The Suburbs
by shortie990
Summary: Alex Vause is back in the old neighbourhood of her hometown, clearing out her mother's house when the newly married Blooms move in across the street. AU. Vauseman.
1. Chapter 1

Do not own Orange Is the New Black or any of the characters.

Okay, I think I say this like every time I start a new story- I don't need another one! Lol.

Now, don't worry all my others stories are in the works of being updated. (Yes! That means Hot Child in the City!)

Just, like as I always say, testing the waters with this one! :)

Thanks fig-aruna for editing!

* * *

**The Suburbs**

The air was hot and sticky.

The sky was an endless stretch of a bright vibrant blue. The sun a little ball of yellow beaming down.

It was one of those summers days that you remembered as a kid, playing outside on the street, hours on end in the beaming sun, sweat running down you nose and back. Your clothes sticking to your body, but hey, you didn't really mind because it was summer. You much rather be out, playing in the uncomfortable heat than in some stuffy classroom. You were happy in the sweltering sun.

Well, Alex Vause wasn't happy. Not by one bit. The heat was unbearable for her. She didn't mind summer. It was her favourite season. However, this humidity they were currently experiencing now was not right with her. It was way too fucking hot out, she thought as she twisted her long dark hair into a knot at the base of her neck.

She wiped the sweat off before going back to her task of cleaning out the garage. God, she couldn't wait until she could get out of this hell hole of a place and go back to her life in the City. However, that wouldn't be for a while still. It was taking her a lot longer to clear out her mother's house than she originally thought it would.

There was so much shit.

So much fucking shit.

Shit she'd long ago buried away or tried to at least. But now as she faced it, box after box, she was starting to realize that maybe she hadn't put it all behind her.

A sigh escaped from her lips as she looked down at the cardboard box at her feet. It was filled with all her old school stuff. Finger-painted pictures on yellowed paper and old school reports. Stuff that only a mother would keep or care about. Alex's school days were long behind her now. She hardly looked back at those days with fond memories. Sure, there were a few, but she wouldn't go back to those playground days of her youth if you paid her. She much rather be an adult and have to deal with the hard shit that came with being one. Like paying taxes and getting a job and such. She rather much have to deal with any of that stuff than playground drama again.

Let's just say growing up hadn't been that easy for her.

Alex adjusted her glasses which had began to slip down her nose as she sighed again. Placing her hands on her hips, she drifted her attention away from the box, along the driveway, and across the street where a moving van had just pulled up. It looked like the newest idiots of the neighbourhood where moving in, she thought in amusement to herself.

Alex didn't know why anyone would live in the suburbs of their own will. It was so boring and bland here she found. But hey, not anyone could afford the luxury of a brain, right? She stepped away from the box and walked casually to the end of her driveway to catch a better glance at the new arrivals. She knew she wouldn't be the only one showing interest in the moving van. Everyone would want to catch the first glance of whoever was moving in.

It was a pretty fucking big deal around here when someone new moved in.

She squinted slightly underneath the harsh rays of the sun as a white car pulled up into the driveway of the house.

Of course it was a white car. Everything here was some sort of shade of white: the stucco of the houses, the cars, the fences...the people. Let's just say the neighbourhood was a big fan of the colour white.

* * *

The couple didn't say anything as they pulled up into the driveway of the house and sat there, allowing the cold blast of the AC to blow over bare skin. They both peered out the windshield of the car and up at the house. _Their _house.

Piper Chapman, correction Piper _Bloom_ (She still wasn't used to her new name) couldn't believe that she owned a house, correction again- that _they_ owned a house.

She and Larry.

She still couldn't get over that they were married. It had been three weeks, almost a month now since they'd tied the knot. They'd just come back from their honeymoon in Florida. She knew, it's not the most glamorous place a girl dreams of going for her honeymoon. It was no Bora Bora. But money was tight at the moment for them with buying the house and Larry freelancing as a writer and herself starting her own business with her best friend, Polly. Florida had been really the only thing they could afford to go, and they had gotten a good deal. Piper hadn't been too upset about it; as long as she was on a beach of sorts, she was happy.

However, Larry promised her that he would take her on a proper honeymoon as soon as he could.

"Welcome home, _Mrs_. Bloom!" Larry's breath was warm against her ear as he leaned in close to her.

The blonde immediately turned her head and locked eyes on her husband. A smile spread across her features at being called a _Mrs._ She felt a small thrill of excitement in the pit of her stomach as she continued to hold Larry's eye.

"Well, thank you, _Mr_. Bloom," she whispered playfully back as she cupped the side of Larry's face before pulling him into a soft kiss.

The couple kissed briefly before pulling apart and getting out of the car. The humid air hit Piper like a ton of bricks as she stretched her legs and closed the passenger door of the car. She stood there watching as Larry walked down the driveway towards the moving guys, who were just getting out of the moving van.

She lifted her shoulder-length blonde hair off of her already sweaty neck and twisted it into a knot before letting it drop again to her shoulders. She shifted her attention away from Larry and back over to the house. She still couldn't believe she owned it. It felt kinda surreal to her how her life was turning out. It just seemed liked yesterday she'd graduated from Smith and was living back at her parent's house for the summer. That was eight years ago really. Not only had Piper had a few jobs since then, but she had met Larry and fallen in love and was now married to him and starting this whole new chapter of her life.

And this house was a shining new symbol of this.

The house wasn't one of those new developments that her best friend Polly and her husband, Pete lived in across town. No, this was an older house. The development that they were in had been built in the 1950's or so. The area had been pretty much abandoned since newer, modern homes and developments had began to be pop up nearby in the late 90s and early 2000's. A contractor had recently bought some of the houses in the neighbourhood dirt cheap and began renovating them. Keeping that 1950's charm, but with all the modern amenities and essentials. Or so they advertised. All that Piper knew really was that the house had been in their price range.

She would had been fine staying in the City for a few more years, renting until they bought a place, but Polly like everything else had convinced her otherwise to make the plunge into homeownership. Polly had wanted them to move into her neighbour, but the houses weren't in their budget. So they had settled for the older neighbourhood in town. It was still nice in Piper's opinion. It had that suburbs feel, but the houses here didn't look all the same like they seemed too in Polly's area. Plus, the older part of town was supposed to be making a comeback or so the real-estate agent had informed them when showing the house.

She continued to look at the house for a moment or two longer before glancing over her shoulder to see where Larry was. However, before she could, someone caught her eye. There was a tall dark-haired woman watching her from across the street. She figured this was one of her neighbours.

The two women locked eyes on each other and just stared for a good moment or two. They were both trying to make sense of each other or something it seemed.

Piper felt a funny feeling come over her as she felt the other woman's eyes continue to pierce into her. She couldn't quite place what she was feeling at the moment as she continued to look at her. Not knowing what else to do, Piper found herself raising her right hand and waving at the woman.

"HI THERE!" she called out with a smile.

The woman just looked at her for a second, almost looking perplexed at her gesture before a smirk appeared on her face.

"HEY!" called back the other woman at Piper.

She didn't wave like Piper had done. She just merely smirked, looking on at the blonde with an amused look before turning suddenly on her heel and walking back up her driveway, disappearing into her house.

Piper just stood there for a second longer, under the heat of the sun, looking at the house across the street and trying to make sense of what had just happened.

* * *

So what do you think?

Please, leave your thoughts in a review.

Thanks for reading.

Julie.


	2. Chapter 2

Do not own Orange Is the New Black or any of the characters.

You guys have once again blown me away with all the feedback the first chapter got. Thank you so much! I hope you will like where I take this story.

Thanks fig-aruna for editing!

* * *

Alex fanned herself with a spread of newspaper as she looked across the unkempt lawn.

The sun was sweltering and hot as ever that day, she thought. It seemed to be endless, this humid and heavy heat. It was hot in the morning, hot in the afternoon, and hot at night. It was just one long stretch of sticky, sweltering, stuffy, uncomfortable heat.

She continued to fan herself, trying to attempt some sort of cool down, but she knew it wasn't doing much, only blowing the hot air around more. She was in the backyard sitting on a lawn chair in the shade with her long hair up and off of her face and neck, but as if that hardly amounted to anything.

She was still unbearably hot.

God, she couldn't wait to get back to her own apartment which had AC. Her mother had never been able to afford central air while she'd been growing up in the house, and even after she'd moved out and her mother could afford it, she never got around to installing one. Hence, Alex was now seated outside where it was at least nominally cooler than inside the house. It was getting so bad, she was even considering just going out to Wal-Mart and buying one of those window units to at least make the bedroom bearable. She hoped to be out of this place by the end of the month, so hopefully, she'd be back in the comforts of her own place before she broke down and had to spend the money for AC here.

She had a feeling that she was going to be here a lot longer in this hellhole past the summer though. But she didn't want to think about that. It hurt too much, so she turned her attention back onto the untouched lawn.

Since it had just been her and her mom pretty much growing up, mowing it had been Alex's job. Nowadays, she just got one of the neighbour's kids to do it though. There was always some pimply teenaged boy around willing to mow the lawn for her.

It was only the middle of the afternoon, but she was done for the day. Alex had planned on finishing up the garage today but had given up. It was just too damn hot out for that. So that's how she found herself now lying on the old lawn chair in just a bikini top and shorts. She'd even considered putting the sprinkler on and running through it like a kid. However, she had chosen a more grown up approach of cooling down, a nice cold alcohol beverage.

Dropping the newspaper onto her bare stomach, she reached for the bottle of beer on the end table beside her. Just as she brought the neck of the bottle up to her lips, the high-pitched trill of her phone assaulted her ears. Sitting up slightly, she reached for the phone with her free hand and looked down at the display. She couldn't help but sigh as she noted who was calling. Taking a healthy swig of her beer, she slowly swiped the screen and brought it up to her ear.

"Hey, babe," she spoke, instantly adapting a breezy, cheerful tone.

"Baby!" whined the person on the other line. "I had such a terrible day today."

"Why? What happened?" Alex was not really interested to her about her girlfriend's day but pretended to be anyway. It was always a lot easier to just go through the motions of pretending to care and shit.

She tried not to sigh as she listened to her girlfriend whine and complain on the phone. She hated when she got into these whiny moods which was most of the time, really. She wasn't even sure why she was still going out with her. Wren was almost ten years younger than her. She'd hired Wren to be a sales representative for the drug company she worked for but had soon taken her underneath her wing as her own little hot plaything. They had been going out for about six months now, but Alex was thinking about ending it. Wren's immaturity was starting to grate on her. Sure, she was amazing in the sack and was pretty much up for anything, but everything else about her was getting to be fucking aggravating. Like her constant whining and clinginess. She hated how clingy the younger woman was.

"ALLIE! Are you even fucking listening to me?! Do you even fucking care about the crap day I had? It's like you're not even the same person anymore since you went off to suburbia and just fucking left me here!" complained Wren in her high shrill of a voice.

"Babe..._no_, _no,_ of course I care and was listening to you," lied Alex. "I know it's hard being apart." _And sorry if my mother dying is getting in the way of your fucking selfishness_- She wanted to add but didn't. It wasn't worth the fight. Wren hated that she was here and that she had left her back in the City. Wren had wanted to come out with her and help but Alex wouldn't let her. This was something she needed to do on her own, plus she actually found it to be a nice break being away from her girlfriend over the last month.

"Do you miss me?"

"Babe, of course I fucking miss you and that hot ass of yours." Alex wasn't quite lying with this one. She did miss Wren's ass a bit.

"I miss your boobs," whispered Wren in a girlish giggle.

Alex rolled her eyes slightly at hearing Wren's tone. She knew she was trying to be cute and shit with her, but she really wasn't. Taking another swig from her beer, she listened to her girlfriend as she went to tell her what other parts of her body she missed.

All their conversations seemed to go this route. Wren would complain about her day or some bitch she had to deal with and then accusing Alex of not missing her enough, followed by a quick session of phone sex. However, Alex was in no mood to get herself off or hear Wren get herself off. It was way too fucking hot for that. So instead, she ended the call, saying that there was someone at the door and that she would call her later.

As Alex hung up the phone she knew she probably wouldn't end up calling her girlfriend later. Placing the phone into the pocket of her shorts, she reached for the newspaper which was still resting on her stomach and rose to her feet, heading back inside.

* * *

The humidity hit Piper square in the face as she stepped outside of her brand-new house.

It was the next day, and by some miracle everything that she and Larry owned had been unpacked. The house was much bigger than their apartment back in the City had been though, so there hadn't been that much stuff to unpack and unload in the end. The house was split-level and had three bedrooms. Only one of those bedrooms was being used at the moment, the rest having been left unoccupied. She thought it was too much space for them, but Larry said it wouldn't always be like that.

The couple was hoping to start a family soon. Hence, the two extra bedrooms.

Larry was out at the hardware store at the moment buying paint for the dining room. The house was already fully renovated and just needed to be repainted in a few rooms. They were planning on doing that either later on tonight or just saving it for tomorrow. They hadn't decided yet.

Piper had decided that instead of sitting around in the quiet house by herself she would go for a run. She didn't plan on going far, just around the block. She just felt the need to stretch her legs for a bit while Larry was out, so she could take a brief tour of her new neighbourhood, which she'd yet to really explore.

Locking the door, she slid the lone key into the small pocket of her shorts and did up the zipper for it. She next popped her earbuds in and hit play on her iPod before sliding it into the armband on her left arm. The low beat of the music blasted through her eardrum as she walked down the front steps of the porch and set off in a slow jog down the driveway and onto the street.

There were a few kids outside, playing catch on the street or running through sprinklers with glee, trying to beat the summer heat. A small smile spread across the blonde's face as she ran down the stretch of the street, looking at the kids as she passed by.

It was nice to think that kids still played outside and didn't stay locked up in their houses glued to the TV or videogames like the news was always talking about, she thought. How kids weren't active enough and instead wallowed in the inevitable health problems that came with overly sedentary life. But here was living proof that wasn't nearly true, at least around here. Kids still went outside and ran around like she had as a kid.

Piper's happiness didn't last for too long, though. A sadness slowly spread into the pit of her stomach like it always did when she was around kids for too long nowadays. She mentally shook her head, trying to shake the sudden feeling. She didn't want to go there. She'd told herself she couldn't afford to go there anymore. She needed to move past it. It had been nearly a year to the day. She needed to get over it. People had told her at the beginning that the pain would eventually fade and that it would get easier as time passed, but that was a big fucking lie. It still hurt, even after a year; it fucking hurt just as bad at it had on the day it had happened.

She stopped running suddenly as she ripped the iPod from her arm and swirled through the list of songs until she found the one she was looking for. She stood there for a second allowing for the upbeat tempo of The Black Keys' Everlasting Light to pound through her ears before securing the iPod back into the armband and taking off in a jog again, her feet pounding against the asphalt. Her pace was quicker this time as a trail of sweat began to run down her back, making the material of her shirt cling to her body.

She couldn't help but think of how funny it was that there were no sidewalks on the street as she turned down a new street, one that didn't look much different than her own, but she guessed they had no use for them here. The streets were wide enough to allow for someone to walk along the side of them while two cars passed at the same time in opposite directions.

* * *

"I'm coming...I'm coming...I'm coming..." called out Alex as she approached the front door, where someone was ringing the old doorbell repeatedly for her attention. Her feelings of annoyance faded as she took a quick glance through the peephole and saw a familiar face. She grinned slightly as her hand twisted the doorknob and flung open the door a moment later.

"Took you long enough!" spoke the petite wild-maned woman standing on the front porch. "What were ya doing, taking a fucking shit or somethin', Vause?"

Alex grinned and gave her friend an eye roll at this. "What can I help you with?" she asked as she leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms over her ample chest, green eyes piercing into the other woman.

Nicky Nichols gave Alex a shit-eating grin before replying. "It's not what you can help me with..._buttt_ what I can help you with, my friend."

"What the hell are you talking about, Nichols?" asked Alex as she cocked an eyebrow, unsure at what Nicky meant by this statement.

"I was wondering if you want to get out of this fucking hellhole of suburbia for awhile and get a drink or two...or three..." Nicky once again grinned at Alex as she wagged her eyebrows against her forehead.

"Hell yes!" cried Alex eagerly. She didn't need to be persuaded any further by her childhood friend. She was always down for a drink or any excuse really to get out of the house. "Just let me go change..." she spoke gesturing to the space behind her.

"Why?" asked Nicky as her eyes began to travel down the length of the brunette's tall body. "I don't see anything wrong with what...you...are...wearing..."She spoke slowly, as she licked her lips and continued to gawk at Alex's almost naked body, who had yet to change out of the bikini top and cut-off shorts.

"Of course you don't," laughed Alex raising a single thin eyebrow. Nicky, who had been her best friend as long as she could remember was always in approval of any half-dressed state.

"Do you want to come inside or just wait out here?" asked Alex as she made a move away from the doorframe. "I don't have AC, so you'll be sweating balls either way."

"Out here is fine," indicated Nicky as her eyes looked up at Alex. "It will allow me to check out your new neighbours." The shorter woman gestured with her thumb to the house directly across the street from them.

Alex flickered her eyes briefly over to the house before looking back at the other woman. "Yeah, they moved in yesterday," she stated with very little interest in her voice. After her brief exchange of greets with the blonde across the street yesterday, she hadn't spoken or seen the new neighbours since.

"Got any dirt yet?" asked Nicky with amusement in her eyes. Nicky lived a couple streets over in the only apartment complex in town and was always interested to hear about the newest residents in the neighbourhood.

"Geesh! You're just as bad as fucking everyone else!" stated Alex with a tad of annoyance in her voice. Everyone who lived in this town couldn't seem to just focus on their own business, she thought. When anyone new showed up, it was like a pack of wolves attacking fresh meat. Everyone needed to know everything about everyone who lived here. It annoyed the fuck out of her.

"What?!" cried out Nicky innocently after Alex, who had began to walk away from the door and down the hallway. What's wrong with being a little curious? she thought to herself as she slowly looked back over at the house, when a tall blonde came running up to it.

"Fresh meat indeed," murmured Nicky out loud to herself as she gawked at the newcomer who had come to a stop at the edge of her driveway. She didn't notice Nicky watching her as she began to stretch out the long toned legs of her body.

* * *

I promise there will be a lot more Vauseman in later chapters, just need to establish a few things first before that can happen. ;)

Thanks for reading and please review!

Julie


	3. Chapter 3

Do not own Orange Is the New Black or any of the characters.

Thanks fig-aruna for editing!

I love how some of you remember my dear Wren. :) I just had to bring her back for fun times!

I have a feeling you guys will enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Piper was just coming back from her run when someone approached her.

She immediately pulled out her earbuds and turned to look at the petite woman coming towards her with a huge smile from across the street. She figured this must be one of her neighbours, some of whom she'd already met yesterday while she and Larry were moving in. There were the Healy's next door to them - an older, stocky man named Sam and his quiet wife Katya. She'd also met the vivacious Anita DeMarco and her friend Miss Rosa, DeMarco living a few doors down and Miss Rosa just a couple blocks over.

"Hi there!" greeted the blonde cheerfully as she wiped the light sweat on her forehead before wrapping her earbuds around her iPod.

"Hi!" greeted back the petite brunette as she stopped a foot away from where Piper stood. "I'm Morello. Lorna Morello. Soon-to-be-Lorna MacLaren." The small Italian woman smiled broadly at the blonde, her brown eyes crinkling slightly underneath the harsh rays of the sun.

"Piper," she replied as she reached out and shook Lorna's hand. "Piper Chapman." She inwardly cursed at automatically using her maiden name but didn't bother correcting herself.

"Welcome to the neighbourhood!" announced Lorna as she once again grinned at Piper. She spoke in an accent that Piper recognized was from Brooklyn. It suddenly made her miss the City and her old apartment there.

"I would've come yesterday to officially greet you and your...?" Lorna's dark eyes immediately fell onto Piper's left hand, looking for a wedding ring.

"Husband," added Piper with a stiff smile as she held up her left hand, causing the diamond on her engagement ring to flash in the sunlight.

"Husband!" echoed Lorna who seemed overly thrilled at this news that Piper had a husband. "Is he around? I would love to meet him too!"

"Oh, no. Larry's out at the store at the moment. Getting paint. We're planning on painting the dining room tonight," explained Piper as she tucked a slightly sticky stray hair behind her ear.

"Oh, that's too bad." Lorna seemed quite disappointed that Larry wasn't here for her to meet.

A brief awkward silence passed between them before Lorna's face broke out into a warm grin.

"I almost forgot!" she squeaked in a high trill at the blonde. "I brought you cookies!"

"Cookies!?" Piper couldn't help but be taken slightly aback as Lorna enthusiastically lifted a pink heart-shaped plate towards her. No one other than Gram had ever made her cookies before, and that'd been years ago. It seemed like such a foreign gesture to her now, and she didn't quite know how to respond.

"Just a little welcoming present!" explained the small brunette as she thrust the cellophane-wrapped plate of cookies in Piper's face.

"Thank you..." said Piper, caught a little off guard as she awkwardly took the plate from petite hands.

"They're just plain old chocolate chip!" replied Lorna, her red lips spreading out in a wide grin. "Everyone likes chocolate, right?"

"That's true," agreed Piper with a slight smile. "I'm sure Larry is going to love these. He has a real sweet tooth!"

"Oh! So does my Christopher!" There was a look of devotion and love painted across the Italian woman's features as she talked about her fiancé. "These are his favourite actually! Christopher does most of the cooking at home but I'm the baker. I had to one time practically kick him out of our house when baking them. He would have eaten the whole plateful if I didn't keep my eye on him the whole time."

Piper couldn't help but laugh at this. That seemed like something Larry would do if she ever decided to get into the kitchen and attempted to bake something. She wasn't much of a baker or a cook for that matter really. Both her and Larry much rather order in or go out somewhere then cook.

* * *

"Oh no! Here comes the welcoming squad!" murmured Nicky to herself as she watched a very eager-looking Lorna Morello approach the poor blonde from behind.

People tended to swarm around new neighbours like bees around a flower here.

And Lorna Morello was one of the busiest, always going out of her way to greet the neighbours, baking them cookies and shit. She was a little eager beaver that one.

Nicky stood there on Alex's front porch, silently watching the exchange of the little bee swarming and buzzing around the bright dandelion. She ran her tongue over her top row of teeth, wondering if she should go over there herself. She was very tempted to do so. She glanced slightly over her shoulder at Alex's front door before looking back across the street.

Screw it, she thought as she began to race down the steps of the porch.

"HEY, MORELLO!"

Piper and Lorna both turned at the same time and looked across the street where a wild-haired woman was running towards them.

"Ah...Hi Nicky," stated Lorna, who had suddenly gone very shy. She downcast her brown eyes as she nervously tucked her curls behind her ears.

"Who's your friend?" stated Nicky as she clapped a hand on Lorna's back and nodded her head towards Piper.

Piper's eyes widened slightly as she looked into this Nicky woman's face. She was suddenly very curious to found out who she was. She'd come across the street, but she wasn't the same brunette she'd said hi to yesterday. She wondered if they were life partners or something.

"This is Piper," spoke Lorna as she tore her attention away from Nicky and once again looked over at the blonde. She had kinda forgotten she was there. "She's the newest resident in the neighbourhood...Piper. This is Nicky."

"It's nice to meet you," Piper flashed Nicky a polite smile as she held out her hand towards her, shifting the plate of cookies awkwardly against her hip. The smile, she had mastered since the age of 6. It was a Chapman signature really. That slight curve of the corners of lips, no teeth showing. The smile that didn't quite reach the eyes but wasn't rude-looking either like a frown. It had the perfect mixture of emotion behind it.

"Likewise, blondie..." replied Nicky slowly as her eyes lingered on the blonde's face for a second before traveling down her tall lean frame. She didn't care if she was making it painfully obvious that she was checking out the new neighbour. Nicky Nichols made everything she did painfully obvious. She smirked slightly as she met Piper's eye again and finally shook her hand.

"Is that your house?" asked Piper with curiosity as she gestured to across the street.

"No, it isn't," replied Nicky as if what Piper had just asked her amused her in some way. "I live over on Montgomery."

"I'm sorry, I don't know where that is," Piper smiled weakly at this brassy shorter woman with the wild mane of curls. She barely knew her house number let alone where anything else was located in the neighbourhood or town for that matter.

"Eh...it's not important. Just a crap apartment building, really," replied Nicky, a smirk spreading across her face.

* * *

"For fuck's sake!" swore Alex underneath her breath as she stepped out of her house and noticed that Nicky was across the street talking to her new neighbour.

"Fuck!" she swore again as she noticed that Lorna was with them. This was something she'd wanted to avoid at all costs, but she knew there was no going back now. The welcoming party had already swarmed in. She guessed it would be rude of her now not to go over and say hi though she really didn't want too.

She locked the front door of the house before slowly making her way across the street. She could already tell by the sight of this shiny blonde lady that she would be WASPy as hell.

Alex adjusted her glasses on the bridge of her nose as she slowly approached the small group of women from behind. She was within earshot when she heard her name.

"And there's the sasquatch herself," cried Nicky with her signature grin appearing on her face as she turned to look at Alex. "We were just talking about you, Vause."

"Were you now?" replied Alex as she cocked an eyebrow at her friend. She didn't like the sound of this.

"Oh, yeah," stated Nicky slyly before turning her attention onto Piper again. "Pipes," she spoke like she had known the blonde woman for years instead of mere seconds. "This is Alex...or as some call her, Vause...Vause, this is Pipes!"

"Pipes?" repeated Alex, making sure she had heard the names right.

"Piper!" corrected the blonde as her eyes fell onto Alex. "Piper Chapman." _Shit!_ she cursed in her head. She had forgotten to say her married name again. However, she didn't linger on that thought for too long as she smiled at this Alex person. Her nerves suddenly sprang to life as she felt green eyes piercing into her. She didn't know why but she was suddenly overcome with shyness as she looked at this tall woman before her.

"Oh! You live across the street!" she stated, suddenly realizing she'd kinda met Alex already. Well, not really. But they had said hi. That was something, she guessed as she continued to look at the taller woman.

Alex just looked at Piper for a moment, studying her with amusement. She could reply to this remark two ways: be a jackass and say something snarky (that would be her usual go-to response) or actually be nice and say something decent for once. She slid her thumbs through the loops on her jeans as she continued to study her neighbour for a second.

"It's nice to meet you," she stated, deciding not to be an complete asshole towards this Piper person. Who she had to admit was quite hot. Maybe it was because she wasn't with her husband or dressed in those goofy khaki Bermuda shorts she had been wearing yesterday which just screamed white Upper Class at the country club. She had that dewy, sweaty running look to her. And not the gross kind but the hot kind that showcased in those commercials for Nike and the like. Easy there, Vause, she thought to herself as she felt a familiar feeling stir slightly in her stomach. She was in a committed relationship, she reminded herself. Remember, Wren!? Plus, this blonde chick was married. She was probably as straight as a board and maybe a little prudish too, she thought as she continued to drink in the blonde's face. There was no way she would pursue the married woman, not that it ever stopped her before.

She did have really pretty eyes though, she thought.

The two women just stared at each other for a second, a little unsure on what to do before shaking hands finally.

"It's nice to meet you too," echoed back Piper as her eyes continued to look into hers. She could feel her pulse pick up slightly as something warm filled her stomach. She couldn't place why she suddenly felt like a kid with a crush towards the brunette. She was married, she thought. She wasn't supposed to be having feelings for other people. Letting go of Alex's hand, Piper ran her hand through her ponytail. She could feel her cheeks flush slightly, but she hoped that it wasn't noticeable.

"Alex just moved back to the neighbourhood a month ago," began to explain Lorna in her high squeaky Brooklyn accent. "She's living in her old childhood house..."

Alex tore her eyes away from Piper and glared at Lorna, letting the much smaller woman know that she was overstepping the line. There was no way in hell that she wanted the blonde, hot or otherwise, to know her business. This whole neighbourhood already knew too much about her life. She didn't need a complete stranger privy into it too.

"For sentimental reasons, _of course_!" interjected Nicky as she wrapped an arm around Lorna's shoulder and laughed in Piper's face, her brown eyes shifting slightly between Alex and Lorna. She knew that Alex didn't like other people gossiping about her and her family situation at the moment. She'd never liked people sticking their nose in her business, which is what Lorna was clearly doing now.

Lorna's forehead creased slightly as she looked over at Nicky in puzzlement but didn't say anything else on regarding Alex to Piper.

"Well...it was really nice to meet you all, but I should be going. My husband is going to be home soon...and..." Piper knew it was rude of her not to invite them inside for a drink or something. Her mother would have surely frowned on her hostess skills. However, she wasn't really a hostess at the moment, she thought. They had all approached her. And it was true, Larry would be home soon, and she really didn't feel like entertaining her new neighbours, especially not with how bare the house looked at the moment. Another time, she thought to herself. Another time she would invite them all inside and put on her 1950s housewife charm.

So she quickly said her goodbyes before heading into the house. She was in desperate need of a shower she thought as she felt the back of her shirt sticking to her like an extra layer of skin. God, she hoped she didn't smell as she walked slowly up the front steps of the house. Because that would just be fucking embarrassing, stinking while meeting her new neighbours. What kind of first impression would that be? Not a Chapman one, that was for sure. She resisted the urge to smell one of her pits as she could feel her neighbours' eyes trailing her still as she unlocked the door and slipped into the safe haven of her house.

"Well, that was fun!" stated Nicky, who continued to hold Lorna close to her side, arm draping casually over her shoulder.

"Yeah, barrels," murmured Alex in a bored sounding voice as she reached up and adjusted her glasses.

"I think she's a nice addition to the neighbourhood," commented Lorna brightly as if Piper was a new doll she had just personally selected to be a part of her collection or something.

"Yeah, I was thinking we needed another white person around here," replied Nicky sarcastically. "I've been feeling the pinch lately!"

Alex tossed her head back and let out a deep-throated chuckle at Nicky's comment. It was true; it was really fucking white around here.

Lorna just scowled at the two of them at this as she unwrapped herself from Nicky.

"Oh, come on, Morello, it was just a fucking joke," cried Nicky as she glanced over at Lorna. "Don't give me that face!"

"Come on! I'll make it up to you! Me and Vause were heading out to get a drink or two. Come with us!" Nicky hated when Lorna got upset at her like she was now. Her brown eyes pleaded with her to forgive her. "I'll buy you one!"

Lorna just glared at Nicky before replying, "I gotta get home soon. Christopher will be calling..."

Nicky sighed and rolled her eyes at the mention of Lorna's husband.

"Where is he this month?" asked Alex politely, ignoring the glare from Nicky.

"Paris!" chimed Lorna, a smile once again appearing on her face. "That's where he wants to go for our honeymoon. He says it's really romantic there. I want to go somewhere exotic though, like Bora Bora Bora."

Alex tried to suppress a smile at the mention of three Boras. "I think it's only two Boras. Bora Bora." She hadn't gone to college or anything, but she was fairly certain on this.

"Oh, no. I pretty sure there's a third Bora. Bora Bora Bora," replied Lorna very matter-of-factly.

Alex's eyes widened slightly in disbelief at how serious Lorna was being over this whole Bora Bora thing.

"Who cares what the fucking place is called!" cried out Nicky suddenly in frustration. She was suddenly pissed off. Maybe it was the heat or the mention of Lorna's stupid fake fiancé Christopher. But she was definitely in need of that drink now.

"Come on, Vause! Let's fucking get out of this place. See ya, Morello!" She then grabbed Alex by the crook of the arm and began to pull her across the street back to Alex's house where her car was parked in the driveway.

"Bye," waved Alex as she looked back at Lorna as Nicky half-dragged her.

"Bye!" cried back Lorna, cheerfully with a wave.

* * *

Big Boo's was quiet on this mid-summer afternoon as Nicky and Alex entered the dimly lit bar.

The cool air of the AC washed over them like a welcoming hug as they walked towards their usual booth in the back. They nodded their heads to the bartender and owner, Big Boo, herself as they walked past her. Boo just so happened to be one of their old friends too. She was a big beefy woman with tattoos covering her arms and a shaven head, except for the strip of black hair along the top.

"What can I get you today, my fine friends?" asked Big Boo as she appeared at their table a few moments later. Her green eyes danced between Nicky and Alex, a smirk painted on her face.

"Just a beer for me," replied Alex.

"You got any hooch left?" asked Nicky with hopeful eyes. She was in need of something strong, and there was nothing stronger than Big Boo's magic hooch. What had just started off as innocent rainy day experiment in high school had made an appearance years later on the specialties menu. Big Boo didn't actually make the vulgar drink herself. She had a specific person make it for her.

"Fuck, Nichols. Rough day already?" laughed Boo, making her whole body shake with amusement.

"You got hooch or not?" snapped Nicky like a child. She was in no mood to be hassled at the moment.

"Yeah. I got some. Poussey dropped off a whole batch of the nasty stuff yesterday," replied Boo.

Alex and Nicky sat in silence for a few moments as Big Boo left their table and returned with their drinks.

"Let me know if you need anything else," spoke the beefy woman to the two of them before going to check up on another customer, who had just arrived in the bar.

"So, what's with you and Lorna?" asked Alex casually as she brought the cold bottle up to her lips and took a swig from it.

"What do you mean?" asked Nicky as she met Alex's eye from across the table.

"Well, I sensed some sort of...tension between the two of you," Alex spoke slowly as she tried to describe what she had felt back there on Piper's porch. She knew Nicky was a little sensitive when it came to the red-lipped Italian woman. "Earlier. What was that about? You guys not fucking anymore?"

The brunette took another swig of her beer and raised an eyebrow slightly at her friend.

"No," stated Nicky as she held Alex's gaze for a second before dropping her eyes to the table. She took a sip from her own drink, which had been served in a red plastic cup and winced slightly as the bitterness of the drink hit the back of her throat. The house hooch was a mystery combination of strong alcohol and some other things. Nicky would rather not know what other things though.

"When did that fucking happen?" asked Alex out of curiosity. "Last time I saw you guys, Lorna was pretty gay...gay for you in fact!" She had only known Lorna for a short while since she had moved back home. And she knew that what had started off as some sort of an affair between Nicky and her had developed in to something much more. However, she knew that despite how much Nicky put on the suave player act, the wild-haired woman did in fact love Lorna. She had seen it, closely watching how they interacted together.

"How am I supposed to fucking know!" spat Nicky in sudden rage. "One minute we're fucking, my hand up her twat, and the next, she's telling me that it's over...that's she got to tighten up for _Christopher_!" Her voice climbed high on the end as she mimicked Lorna's voice.

Alex's thin eyebrows flew up her forehead in surprise at Nicky's anger. She hadn't been expecting her to be this hung up over Triple Bora Morello.

"What's that supposed to even fucking mean? Tighten up?" asked Alex as she took another drag from her beer.

"Oh, you know, because Christopher's penis is so small, it's like a fucking hotdog in a hallway!"

Alex almost choked on her beer, instantly trying to picture Lorna's fiancée's penis.

Neither woman said anything as Nicky leaned back against the vinyl booth and sulked as she thought back to that day in Lorna's bedroom. She ran a finger along the rim of the plastic cup before draining it in one fluid motion.

"Wow," responded Alex as Nicky slammed the empty cup onto the table and belched.

"Screw her and her fucking Christopher," spat Nicky. "I let it go on for too long anyways."

Alex didn't say anything as she nodded her head in agreement to this.

Another moment of silence passed between the two of them as Nicky signalled to Big Boo for a refill.

"So who's your next victim going to be?" asked Alex, trying to change the topic.

"I dunno," shrugged Nicky as she glanced back at Alex. "There aren't exactly a lot of options left."

There were a lot of bored and unsatisfied housewives in the neighbourhood, ones who always fantasized about being with another woman but never had the guts to try. Or those who had drunk-kissed a girl during college and, now years after, were thinking about it while having bored sex with their husbands. Nicky wasn't ashamed to make those fantasies come true, but the town was small, and she was running low on options.

"You wouldn't have this fucking problem if you had just moved out to the City like I told you," said Alex with a grin. She'd been trying to convince her friend to move out of the small town that they had both grown up in, but Nicky, despite all her complaining, liked the town.

"Maybe I'll go after that Piper. She's pretty hot," commented Nicky as her signature shit-eating grin appeared once again, her anger from earlier suddenly lifting.

"I think she's married, Nichols!"

"Like that ever fucking stopped me before!" Nicky wagged her eyebrows and continued to smile at Alex. "And since when do you fucking care about rules and shit, huh? You're the one who sleeping with a twenty-year-old at the moment."

"Wren's twenty-two," corrected Alex as she finished off the beer.

"Oh! _Whoopdee-do_! A two-year difference!" Nicky couldn't help but roll her eyes. "My mistake! That makes all the difference in the world...NOT!"

It was Alex's turn to roll her eyes. She knew that Nicky liked to poke fun at her and her current relationship. Yes, Wren was young, but at least she wasn't married, she thought. Alex wasn't the best at relationships and following the rules of them. She couldn't even really remember the last relationship she had that had lasted more than a year. But she was trying to be good and faithful, something she had failed on in the past.

"I like Piper," stated Nicky after a moment had passed.

"I think you should stay away from that," replied Alex, beginning to peel off the label of the bottle.

"She's hot!"

"Yes...but again, she's married."

"Are you seriously telling me, Vause, that you wouldn't fuck her?" asked Nicky as she leaned into the table and cocked an eyebrow at the brunette. "That if she came running over to your house in those little white running shorts of hers, complaining how her husband can't get it up and just needed to be fucked...You wouldn't help a damsel in distress?"

Alex had a sudden flash of that scenario come to life in her head with Piper arriving on her doorstep, hair down and flowing down her back in waves, those snug and tiny white shorts barely concealing her lower regions. For some reason in this fantasy, Piper wasn't wearing any shoes, and her shirt had been torn, displaying a peak of breasts...Damsel in distress indeed, she thought.

"Well, when you fucking put it like that...yes, of course, I would fuck her!" grinned Alex. "But I'm not going to go out of my way to pursue her or anything."

"Whatever you say, Vause! Whatever you say!" Nicky knew Alex better than she knew herself. Alex was clearly unhappy and bored with that toddler she was currently fucking. And she knew that blondie was definitely Alex's type. Alex could squawk all she wanted about rules and how she was married and shit, but if Piper showed that she was willing, Alex would defiantly go after her.

* * *

Thanks for reading!

Please review!

Julie


	4. Chapter 4

Do not own Orange Is the New Black or any of the characters.

Thanks for all the support for this story. Sorry about the late update.

I feel like I need to do a big fat Larry warning! Yes, Larry is in this chapter, probably much more than you guys want to read, but again it's all for set up. But please read, there is Vauseman as well.

Thanks fig-aruna for betaing.

* * *

The cool night air brushed against Piper's skin as she opened the garage door and slowly lugged the garbage out. Wheeling the plastic can to the curb, she was greeted by a neighbour.

"Shouldn't your husband be the one taking out the trash?"

Piper snapped her head up and peered across the street at a smirking Alex Vause. The blonde wrinkled her forehead, not having expected company, much less the bespectacled brunette's.

Alex had been in the middle of taking out her own garbage when she spotted her new neighbour and grinned a little at having clearly thrown the blonde off with her sudden conversation. She normally liked to keep a low profile around here when she could, but seeing the distracted blonde lumber down the driveway had been too good of an opportunity to not say something. Especially, when she was in her pyjamas.

"Shouldn't yours be?" Piper snapped back as she placed her hands onto her hips. Just because she lived in the suburbs now and had a husband didn't mean she was incapable of taking out the trash. She wasn't Polly or her mother for that matter. She wasn't going to boss Larry around just because she was his wife. She had seen Polly and her mother do just that to their male counterparts, and she had promised herself never to do that. Who did this Alex person think she was questioning her like this, she thought to herself gruffly.

Alex raised her eyebrows in surprise at the blonde's comeback, not having expected such a pointed reaction. Her lips twitched into a smile of amusement. It seemed that blondie had a little spunk to her. She wasn't just some overly sedate, boring yuppy housewife she first thought she would be.

"Nice pyjamas!" remarked Alex as she pushed her glasses up on top of her head and let her eyes roam up and down Piper's pyjama-clad legs. They were baby pink with sheep on them.

Piper looked down at her legs, forgetting what she was wearing.

"Thanks," she replied lamely.

She suddenly felt embarrassed for coming out in her pyjamas, especially ones that were so childish-looking. But they were the first ones she had grabbed before coming out. It could have been the grey ones or any plain-coloured pants but no, it had to be the ones with the sheep. Normally, she didn't care what she was wearing, but for some reason she cared when she was in front of her hot cool neighbour. She couldn't help but feel intimidated with Alex.

Alex reminded her of those girls she had gone to high school with, the ones that cut class and smoked underneath the bleachers. The bad girls. Her friends had all made fun of them, but Piper had always envied them. They always seemed so much cooler than she was.

Alex smirked at her for a second before deciding to leave the woman to her evening. "Have a good night!"

"Bye," Piper called back, watching as Alex headed into her house.

The blonde just stood at the edge of her driveway staring at the house which was one of those bungalow, ranch-style homes.

"I wouldn't get too close to her if I were you."

Piper turned at this and saw her other neighbour, Sam Healy, sitting on his porch quietly watching her.

"Excuse me?" she asked taking a step closer to his lawn. She wasn't sure if she had heard him right. Had he just warned her to stay away from Alex?

"She's a dangerous one..." he explained in all seriousness.

Piper became quiet as she looked at the older man, feeling confused and unsure all of a sudden. Sure, Piper didn't know anything about Alex or her lifestyle, but she thought the old man was being a tad over-dramatic with his grim mug and warning eyes.

"I don't understand," murmured the blonde as she caught Healy's eye.

"_Lesbian_," stated Healy, his dark eyebrows rising slightly.

Piper had no idea how to respond. She didn't know exactly what sort of reaction her neighbour wanted her to have at hearing this piece of news, but his overly serious tone and odd demeanor made her think that he'd expected her to be shocked or have a vulgar reaction. She widened her blue eyes slightly, pretending to be taken aback by this news, but she really wasn't.

"She's a lesbian," continued Healy. "Lesbians can be really dangerous. It's the testosterone. You better stay away from her. We wouldn't want a nice girl like yourself getting caught up in...the likes of her. Watch out for a Nicole Nichols too."

Piper had a feeling that Healy wanted to be some sort of father figure for her, that by telling her all this that she would seek him out for advice and guidance. In reality, it had the opposite effect, and she felt extremely uncomfortable all of a sudden under his gaze. Did he really think that lesbians were some sort of alien species of women whose bodies exclusively produced testosterone instead of estrogen? And did he actually think that she also believed this bullshit? Piper might take after her mother in terms of WASPiness, but she tried to shed that image whenever she could.

Piper wasn't the nice white lady that Healy apparently wanted her to be. Sure, she might look the part, but he didn't know anything about her. Piper Chapman had a past like everyone else and, in fact, had done her fair share of experimenting with the same sex during her college years.

The blonde glanced over at Alex's house before turning back and smiling weakly at Healy. "Have a good night, Mr. Healy!" she whispered, wanting to end the conversation.

"Call me, Sam."

"Sam," corrected Piper.

"Good night, Piper." Healy bowed his head at the blonde, a magnanimous curl of a smile appearing on his face.

"Good night."

* * *

The sunlight poured through the window and onto the couple in bed. Piper opened her eyes and smiled sheepishly at her husband who was currently positioned on top of her.

"I think we just made a baby," whispered Larry huskily into Piper ear before kissing her neck.

"You always say that," laughed Piper.

"Well, one of these days, it's going to come true." Larry kissed the side of Piper's neck again as he placed a hand on her stomach.

The smile on the blonde's face faded at this gesture. She couldn't help but think how much she hated when he did that. Touched her stomach. She could feel her insides twist in slight disgust. She lay there limply for a moment as Larry nuzzled her neck before rolling off of her.

He smiled down at her before getting out of the bed all together. Piper sat up slowly watching as Larry disappeared into the adjoining bathroom. She groaned at the sickening feeling that lingered in the pit of her stomach. She hated feeling like this. Like she was guilty about something. It wasn't like she didn't enjoy sex with her husband. It was just this whole trying for a baby thing... She knew that Larry really wanted a kid. She just wasn't sure if she wanted one anymore.

The blonde groaned again as she rubbed her face in frustration. This was not how she wanted to start off her day. It was already going to be a long one she sensed with having her parents and Polly coming over to see the house. She laid there in the sticky smell of her morning romp with Larry before getting out of bed herself.

Despite her state of undress, she moved to the window and opened it. She stood there for a second, glancing out onto the quiet street of the block. She couldn't help but direct her attention onto Alex's house. She studied it for a second, taking in the lawn that seemed to be a couple inches too hairy and the bags of garbage spilling out along the curb. She wondered what her business was here. The woman didn't fit the suburbs-type at all.

Alex looked like one of those alternative, hipster-art types that seemed more at home in a loft apartment in So-Ho instead of in a rundown-looking bungalow in some town on the outskirts of the City. Piper recalled what Lorna had mentioned yesterday about how the brunette had just moved back here to her childhood home. The blonde couldn't help but ponder what that was all about. She sensed whatever it was, was personal. The look of annoyance that Alex had shot Lorna had not gone unnoticed by her nor had how smoothly Nicky had jumped in. But as much as she was desperate to know more about her neighbour, it just wasn't her business.

Piper stood there at the window for a pensive moment before abruptly turning away. She needed to dress and get ready for what promised to be a long day. Her mother wasn't an easy person to get along with, and she just knew that Carol Chapman wouldn't approve of her new house. In Piper's opinion, it was way too soon to be having people over to see the house, but it was Larry's idea. They hadn't seen any of their family since the wedding. But they were planning on having everyone out on the patio, so it hopefully wouldn't so bad. The patio at least had furniture, unlike most of the empty rooms in the house.

* * *

The Ramones played loudly from the old record player as Alex took a moment to sip her coffee and look out her front window. She had decided to get an early start and was currently clearing out boxes she had brought up from the basement. The first box she had come across was a box of her mom's old records. She couldn't help but set up the old record player she remembered as a kid and playing a few for old time's sakes.

She almost choked on the hot beverage as her eyes fell onto the house across the street. Her eyes immediately widened and a grin spread across her features as she continued to stare. Apparently, her new neighbour wasn't shy.

"Well. _Hello,_ Piper," she murmured to herself as gawked at her naked neighbour. Well, she could only see the upper half of her, but it indeed was a good sight. She worried for a second that the blonde could see her but figured that she was safe as the blonde continued to stare blankly out the window.

The brunette took a sip from her coffee, indulging in her window show for a bit before stepping away. As much as she was enjoying the view, she feared that the husband would appear and ruin the show, and Alex would rather not take the risk of throwing up her breakfast. She chuckled to herself as she moved away from the window and nodded her head to the music.

It was going to be a good day, she thought to herself. She wasn't usually this cheerful, especially not since she had moved back, but these were special circumstances.

A free peepshow always made her happy.

* * *

"Let the fun begin," Larry whispered into Piper's ear at the tell-tale ring of the doorbell.

Piper rolled her eyes and pushed her husband away as she went to go answer the front door. It would no doubt be her parents, right on time, just like always. The Chapmans were punctual to a point. Tardiness was not a word in their vocabulary. Growing up, Piper had always been right on time for school and the first kid at fellow classmates' birthday parties. This need to be right on time had followed her as she grew up, and through her years at Smith she had never been late for a class or meeting.

The blonde closed her eyes briefly, preparing herself before opening the door and putting on a bright face for her parents.

"Hi, Mom! Hi, Daddy!" Her blues eyes shifted between both of her parents' faces.

Carol's pale blue eyes studied her daughter's face before a frown of disappointment painted her features. "Oh, Piper! What did you do with your hair?"

Piper's smile fell from her face as her hand automatically flew to her hair. "I cut it," stated Piper stupidly. The last time her mother had seen her, she'd been sporting long blonde locks, but in a spur of the moment during her honeymoon, she had cut it dramatically to her shoulder. She honestly didn't think it looked that bad, but her mother, as with everything else in her life, clearly thought otherwise.

"But you had such beautiful hair," drawled Carol in a wail.

"It's nice to see you too, _Mother_," Piper replied with an edge to her voice. Her parents had just gotten here, and her mother was already pushing her buttons. She resisted the urge to sigh before holding open the door further. "Please, come inside!"

Carol didn't say another word as she stepped past her daughter and made her way into the house. Piper listened as Larry greeted her mother and took the opportunity to turn her attention to her father.

"Hello, Darling," stated Richard warmly with a smile.

Piper's anger faded slightly as she took in the familiar face of her father. "Hi, Daddy," she whispered back.

"I think your hair looks beautiful," continued the older man, trying to repair some of the damage done just seconds ago by his wife.

Piper once again touched her hair self-consciously as she smiled weakly at her father.

"Thanks, Daddy!"

Richard hovered on the front steps of the house for a second before entering. He placed a kiss on Piper's cheek as he passed her.

Piper hated how childish and vulnerable she felt as she closed the front door and turned to look at her parents once again. Larry caught her eye and, as if reading her thoughts, gave her a reassuring smile. He understood how hard Piper's parents, and especially her mom, could be on her sometimes.

"Well, as much as I love the foyer of the house, let's move this party into the living room, shall we!" announced Larry a little too loudly as he clapped his hands together and gestured to the room on his right. When the house was being renovated, it'd been completely regutted of its original layout and replaced with an open concept. The room was barely furnished. There was just a large couch in the centre of the room, facing a TV unit.

Their furniture from their previous apartment seemed to fit oddly in their new surroundings. Piper had bought it all from flea markets and little boutique shops. The pieces were all vintage and one-of-a-kind. They didn't seem to fit the suburbia house and its vastness.

"What do you think?" asked Piper quietly from behind, afraid to hear her parents' thoughts. She knew her mother wouldn't approve. Carol had wanted her to move in to Polly's subdivision, also known as the more richer, newer part of the town.

Carol didn't answer right away as a small sigh escaped from her lips.

"I know it isn't much, but we plan on putting in a book shelf," Piper began to explain in a nervous ramble as she gestured to the space of bare wall between the TV unit and the dining room table. "And get a carpet of course..."

"You should think about getting a decorator... Polly got a wonderful designer to do hers," Carol began to suggest brightly as she turned to look at Piper.

"I know," mumbled Piper. She hated when her mother compared her to her best friend. Polly always seemed to do things better in her mother's eye. Polly was Carol's best friend's daughter and Piper's oldest friend. The two had grown up like sisters. Not only had Polly been the first one to get married, but she was also the first to buy a house and was now the first one to get pregnant.

As if on cue, the door bell rang out. Polly and and husband Pete were here.

"I'll get it," mumbled Piper as she turned away from her parents and Larry and headed back into the foyer.

"Please, take a seat, Carol and Richard," she heard Larry speak in the background. She was grateful that he was here to be a buffer between her and her mother. Her parents hadn't approved of her relationship with Larry in the beginning, but after three years, they had come around to him.

He was a good guy, thought Piper to herself as she listened to the exchange between her husband and her parents. He wasn't her usual type, but she had fallen for him anyways. They had known each other for a good two years before beginning to date. Larry was Pete's best friend and had met through their mutual friends dating.

Piper had been getting over a messy relationship when something sparked between her and Larry. Things had moved quickly between them after that point and It had only taken two months of seeing each other to move in together. He had been a nice, welcoming change from her usual type.

* * *

"And this is the spare bedroom," explained Piper as she finished off the tour of the house. She, Polly, and Carol were upstairs while the men were downstairs watching golf. "Larry's probably going to use it as his office. He likes how it looks out onto the backyard."

"Really?!" stated Polly as she met Piper's eye. "The other room seemed better for an office space. This room would do much better as the nursery. Don't you think?"

Piper's dark eyebrows rose at hearing the mention of a nursery. Sure, she and Larry had been trying, but there hadn't been any plans on building a nursery just yet. The whole pregnancy thing was still all really up in the air. "Nursery?"

"Polly is right, dear. This room is better-suited as a nursery than a office," added Carol as she looked around the blank white walls of the room. "It's not only bigger, but it's also closer to the master bedroom. You would hear the baby better in the night."

Piper drifted her attention towards her mother. "Whoa! Where is all this baby talk coming from? I'm not pregnant!"

"Not yet you aren't," replied Polly as she rubbed her own massive pregnant stomach. "But you guys are trying...it's only going to be a matter of time." A small smile appeared on the brunette's face at this. Polly more than anyone wanted Piper to get pregnant, so that they could raise their kids along side each other. Since as early as they could remember they had done everything together.

Piper frowned at hearing this. Her feelings from earlier that morning began to resurface. She had yet to tell her best friend of her doubts about becoming a mother...again. The last time had been hard enough as it was. She didn't know if she could go through with it all over again, especially if it ended like the last one had. She'd rather die than go through that pain and suffering again.

"I dunno," she mumbled with uncertainty.

"Oh, Piper," muttered Carol as she looked at her daughter. "Please don't bring up the miscarriage again. It's almost been a year."

Piper wanted to scream. Her mother was acting like she had no reason to be upset over the miscarriage anymore, treating her like when she had been six and her pet goldfish died. Piper had cried for a week over the fish before her mother had enough of her moping. Carol was looking at her daughter the same way she had then back than. With a mixture of pity and disapproval in the depths of her blue eyes.

"Your mom's right, Pipes," added Polly kindly. "It's time to get back on the horse. You can't let one miscarriage stop you from trying for another one. You're still young."

Piper just glared between the two women. She was angry. No, she was pissed off. She was tired of everyone saying how young she was, that if she got pregnant, she could carry it to term and have a healthy, living baby. But at the same time, she knew it was possible that it would happen all over again.

The room was deadly silent as Piper tried to compose the sudden emotions pulsing through her.

"Let's go back downstairs," murmured the blonde after a moment had passed. She didn't say another word as she pushed past her mother and Polly and headed out of the room. She blinked her eyes rapidly to brush away the tears that had suddenly filled them.

* * *

"Fuck!" cursed Piper underneath her breath as she stepped out of the house. She couldn't believe she was doing this as she stared down into the empty cup into her hands.

She felt like a complete idiot as she looked around the surrounding houses.

"Fuck!" she cursed again in frustration. She had remembered to buy everything her mother had requested but one thing. They hadn't done a proper grocery haul yet and had only bought the essentials needed for lunch. However, Piper had seemed to forget the one thing her mother would truly miss. Sugar for her tea.

If she still lived in the City, she would've just sent Larry down to the corner store to get some. However, she wasn't sure exactly where the nearest store was around here, and by the time she probably found it, it wouldn't matter.

Piper had left the others sitting out in the backyard on the patio with the cheesecake that Polly had brought over, while she went to go find sugar for her mother's beloved cup of tea. If her mother was any decent person, she wouldn't let her daughter go running off like a chicken without a head trying to find sugar for her tea. However, her mother was anything but really. Of course, Carol hadn't made a big fuss when Piper couldn't produce sugar. But Piper had said she would find some. As much as she hated to admit it, she hated to disappoint her mother. She couldn't stand it when her mom looked at her with that look of disapproval in her eyes.

Piper wouldn't let this sugar incident be another thing that her mother could hang over her head.

She wondered if people still did this nowadays or whether she was taking a step back in time in asking her neighbour for a cup of sugar. They would probably think she was crazy if she went knocking on doors for sugar, but she simply had no choice. The blonde stood on the front porch, debating on which neighbour to go to. The easiest route would be to go to Healy, but after last night, she wanted to stay away from him for a bit. The next closest option would be Miss Claudette, who lived on the other side of her. However, the older woman scared her too. The woman would probably just look at her like she had three heads or something if she requested a cup of sugar from her.

That only leaves one choice then, she thought as her eyes fell onto the house across the street. Alex's.

She would probably think Piper was crazy too, but somehow, she could handle humiliating herself in front of the brunette.

Letting out a deep sigh, she quickly descended her front steps and headed across the street.

* * *

I know, that's a crappy place to end but more to come soon.

Thanks for reading.

Julie


	5. Chapter 5

Do not own Orange Is the New Black or any of the characters.

So this is going to be an extremely short chapter, but I think you will enjoy it. Well, I hope you do.

* * *

Alex frowned as she heard the doorbell go off. She wasn't expecting anyone. Brushing the dust off of her jeans, she stood up from her position on the floor and began to make her way into the hallway.

"Coming!" she called out as she approached the door. She quickly looked through the peephole before opening it. She smirked slightly as she peered at the disfigured Piper through the hole. She immediatly thought back to earlier that morning when she had seen the blonde from a much different angle.

"Hey," she spoke casually as she opened the door and leaned against the frame. Her green eyes roamed over the blonde's body for a second before settling on her face. The view wasn't as good as it had been this morning but it was still a pretty good one, she thought. Piper was wearing a blue navy sundress, which made her blue eyes even brighter. She was a beautiful girl, Alex couldn't help but think.

"Hey," replied back Piper with a weak smile. She was extremely nervous at being here on Alex's doorstep. She was now regretting ever coming over here in the first place.

An awkward moment of silence fell over them as they continued to look at each other. Alex had an eyebrow raised, as she continued to stand there waiting for the blonde to explain why she was here.

"So, what can I help you with?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Um...this might sound really stupid," spoke Piper slowly as she tried to explain what she was doing here. "But you don't happen to have a cup of sugar, I can borrow...do you?" She looked on at Alex with hopeful eyes.

The brunette was quiet for a moment as she studied the blonde. She tried to resist the urge to laugh but failed as a smirk once again appeared on her face. "You want to borrow a cup of sugar?!"

"I know it sounds fucking stupid. You probably think I hit my head and think it's the year 1953 or something...but my parents are over and my mom can't have a fucking cup of tea with out sugar and I don't have any..."Piper's voice trailed off in embarrassment. She hadn't meant to rant about her mother and her need for sugar with her tea. But she didn't know how else to explain why she was here, knocking down on Alex's door, asking for a cup of sugar without mentioning her mother's need for it in her tea.

"There is a store you know. This town doesn't have much but it does have one of those giant stores that sells food and shit," replied Alex sarcastically.

Piper's embarrassment quickly faded and was replaced by anger. "Look, I haven't been here that long. And yes of course I know there is a fucking store in this God forsaken town, but I haven't gotten a chance to visit it just yet! So do you have fucking sugar or not?"

Alex was taken back by the blonde's bite. She had experienced the blonde's temper from last night but this was something else. She tried to mask her face from showing her amusement but failed yet again. She found the blonde's temper highly entertaining and a little bit hot. She liked her women with a little bit of feistiness in them.

"Let me see if I do...I might," she added as she turned on her heel and began to walk to he back to the house towards the kitchen. "Come on in," she called out over her shoulder towards Piper.

Piper was confused for a second as Alex began to walk away from her. She hesitated as she stepped through the threshold and into the house. She hadn't meant to snap at Alex like she had, but she was tired of people giving her attitude. First from her mother about her hair to the pressure to reproduce.

She just wanted some fucking sugar.

She looked around the hallway with curiosity taking in the light pink colour of the walls. Alex didn't look like the pink wall type. But again, she assumed from what she had heard from everyone else, that this wasn't her house. The faint echo of music wafted in from the living room. She could make out the familiar beat of The Rolling Stone's I Can't Get No Satisfaction looked down the hallway, towards were Alex had disappeared off too. She could hear the brunette opening and closing cabinets. She clearly couldn't find the sugar, adding to Piper's suspicion that this wasn't her house. The blonde knew it was impolite to look around someone's house uninvited but Alex had said to come on in. And plus, curiosity was getting the better of her.

Piper then slowly stepped into the living room which looked like something from the 1970s with the wooden panel that covered the walls. A record player was playing on the floor and there were boxes scattered around the room. It looked like Alex was making her way through them. As Piper moved further in the room, making her way to one of the boxes, something caught her eye. There was a row of pictures across the mantel of the fireplace which ran along the far wall. This further supported her idea that this wasn't Alex's house. Only parents and grandparents had rows of pictures displayed like a shrine to a loved one.

All the pictures contained the same little girl. A little girl with jet black hair and glasses slightly too big for her face. A little girl who closely resembled Alex.

Just as Piper took a step closer to one of the framed photographs, Alex stepped into the room.

"I don't know how good this stuff is..." Alex held a jar of sugar in her hands. She didn't know if sugar went bad or not. She wasn't even sure how long it had been sitting there in her mother's kitchen cabinet.

Piper took a drastic step back from the mantel and turned her attention onto Alex. Her pulse was racing at being caught in the act. As she opened her mouth to apologize, Alex spoke again. She didn't seem to notice or care that Piper had been snooping around.

"Does sugar go bad?" Alex sniffed at the jar before holding it out to Piper to smell.

"I'm not sure," murmured Piper slowly as she began to make her way over to where Alex was.

"It smells fine to me, but I dunno if you want to take the chance. Like I don't want to be responsible for poisoning your mom or something," spoke Alex with a smirk as she caught Piper's eye.

Piper wouldn't mind at all if her mother ended up with food poisoning, she thought to herself. However, she wasn't going to tell Alex this. She didn't want her to think she was psycho, who wished to poison her own mother. So instead, she just laughed nervously at Alex's comment. "I'm sure it's fine."

"I brought a cup," stated the blonde as she stupidly held up the empty mug she had brought with her.

"You can take the whole damn thing," offered Alex as she put the lid back on the jar.

"Are you sure?" asked Piper.

"Yeah. Take it. I don't need it." Alex had no use for sugar. She didn't drink tea and drank her coffee black. She never baked or cook, so she didn't need it for any cooking purposes. It was just a waste having it here. Anyways, Piper looked like the sugar type.

"Oh...okay then," Piper hesitated as she then awkwardly took the sugar container from the brunette. Their hands brushed slightly up against each others at this exchange.

If this had been a scene from a movie, it would had been shot in sudden slow motion as the first spark of attraction was exchanged between the two main characters. There would probably be some sort of music playing too. However, this wasn't a scene from a romantic comedy. This was reality. There was no slow motion shots or music playing in the background. Well, there was music but The Rolling Stones, Cry to Me didn't count as romantic atmosphere music, unless this was Dirty Dancing. Which it wasn't, either. Piper wasn't some naive young thing, who had just confessed her love to the much older, sexier ballroom dance instructor.

Alex pursed her lips slightly as she continued to look at the blonde. For some reason, she was very amused by her at this moment. She didn't know if it was because there was a slight flush to Piper's cheeks at the moment as she held the jar in her arms like it was a baby. This Piper Chapman had many layers to her, she thought. She'd thought she was some bored yuppy blonde housewife when she first had met her. But after her little peepshow that morning, she was starting to see her in a whole different light. Alex wasn't exactly sure what this different light was. It wasn't like she knew Piper well to make the distinction from who Piper was really and her own thoughts on who she might be.

"Well...I guess I should get going," spoke Piper as she began to make her way towards the door. "Everyone's probably wondering where I am. I told them I would only be a minute."

"Yeah, you wouldn't want your mom freaking out anymore about not having that sugar," commented Alex.

Piper wasn't offended by Alex's comment on her mother. She laughed easily at the remark because it was true. Her mother was a twat at times and probably was freaking out. Well, not freaking out but more like critiquing and being disappointed by how lousy of a host her daughter was being.

"Yeah. For sure," the blonde nodded her head eagerly in agreement to this.

The two women didn't say anything for a moment after this. They were both feeling something that they couldn't quite place.

"Thanks for the sugar," spoke Piper as she continued to slightly linger in the doorway. She was once again feeling nervous but they weren't exactly like the nerves from earlier, before she knocked on Alex's door. They were something different. Excited nerves. The kind of nerves you experienced at the end of a date, wondering if they were going to kiss you or not.

She couldn't help but think to herself how strange that was though. To be feeling these nervous excited jitters all the sudden. This wasn't the end of some date and she knew that Alex wasn't going to kiss her. However, at the same time, there was a small part of her wanting her to kiss her. Piper wasn't blind. Alex was a beautiful woman. Just because she had a ring adorned on her left hand now and it had been a few years since she had been with a woman, didn't mean she had turned off that part of herself. Just because she was married to Larry, didn't mean she couldn't appreciate the physical beauty of others. She wouldn't say she was attracted to Alex but whatever it was that was currently coursing through her wasn't too far behind.

"What are neighbours for?" replied Alex, lowering her voice slightly so it came out in a raspy drawl. Her green eyes pierced into the blonde deeply as the slightest smile curled on her lips. The brunette couldn't deny what she was feeling. She knew all too well what her body was trying to tell her. She liked Piper, she decided suddenly. She _really_ liked Piper. Maybe it was because she seemed the opposite to Wren. And anyone who showed any difference to her current girlfriend was appealing to her. She knew she had told Nicky she wasn't going to do anything with Piper or anyone else for that matter while she was here. She really was trying to be good this time around and follow the rules when it came to having a girlfriend.

But with having the pretty blonde dangling in front of her like candy, she couldn't help but want.

"I'll return the jar back to you," replied Piper, drawing Alex out of her thoughts.

"Keep it," spoke Alex immediately. As much as she would like to have the excuse for Piper to come by again, she didn't really need the jar of sugar back. It would be one last thing she would need to get ride of later.

Piper was quiet for a moment before slowly nodding her head. "Okay," she whispered before finally deciding it was time she leave. She gave Alex a small smile before turning on her heel and making her way across the street.

Alex stood in the open doorway, allowing for the heat to waft into the house as she watched Piper walk away. The record began to skip in the background, but she took no notice of it really as she tried to comprehend these new feelings and thoughts that had suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks.

* * *

Thanks for reading!

Julie


	6. Chapter 6

Do not own Orange Is the New Black or any of the characters.

Thanks to everyone reading, reviewing, favouriting and following this story. I know there is not a lot of Vauseman at the moment and you guys want it to go a little faster, but it's going to be a little while longer, at least another chapter or two before that can really happen. So I hope you stick around a little while longer. :)

Enjoy.

* * *

"So you saw blondie naked, huh?" asked Nicky with interest.

"Yeah," laughed Alex. "I don't think she realized that people could see her."

"Well..." Nicky raised her eyebrows as she stared over at the brunette. "Aren't you going to tell me what they looked like?"

The two women were having a drink at Big Boo's. Alex had been telling her about how her day had started with a little peepshow from her neighbour. Alanis Morissette's All I Really Want was playing loudly from the stereo system.

Alex just smirked and shook her head at the other woman, draining the remainder of her beer. She knew that Nicky was like a fucking dog and would want cup size to nipple ratio on Piper's breasts.

"They were tits," she shrugged. "They were nice."

"They were fucking nice?!" cried out Nicky in disbelief. "That's all you got, that they were fucking nice!"

"They were small...perky..." She was trying to think of adjectives to describe the blonde's boobs. They hadn't been big or large in any way but they hadn't been too small, she thought. "Creamy."

"Creamy?"

"...Like two creampuffs with raspberries on top," muttered Alex in a dreamy voice. Her mind seemed to be far away now as she thought about Piper Chapman in the nude.

"Oh, you got it bad, Vause!" Nicky was highly amused by the look upon her friend's face currently. Alex wouldn't admit it herself, but she could tell that she was looking for her next prey.

"I don't have it bad," replied back Alex as she straightened her back against the backing of the booth. So she thought her neighbour was hot. That was it. This wasn't high school, she thought as she waved down the waitress for another beer. Piper wasn't some girl in her math class that she was crushing on majorly. She had a fucking girlfriend for crying out loud. A very younger, whiner but still hot girlfriend who she loved...well that might be pushing it a little. However, the point was, she was in a committed relationship.

Plus, did she have to mention again that Piper was fucking married!?

As much as she liked Piper's creamy perky tits and could easily image putting one of those round pink nipples in her mouth...And Nicky could taunt her all she wanted, it didn't meant the fantasy was going to come true.

"Whatever you say," chuckled Nicky. "I might have to start coming by your place more often though...just in case little Miss Piper decides to show off her _creampuffs_ as you named them."

"I'll text you the next time she performs," joked Alex. "And they did look like fucking creampuffs." delicious creampuffs, she thought to herself. She didn't realize it but she licked her lips slightly at the thought of taking those tits into her mouth. God, she needed to get laid, she thought as she took a swig from the cool bottle of beer that the waitress had just brought over.

There was no way she was having Wren come down here to visit but maybe she would make a trip up to the City for the weekend? Wren was always on her about not surprising her enough. The idea of heading back to her apartment in the City became more and more appealing to her as she continued to think about it. Plus, there was some stuff in the office she needed to deal with too. Up until this point she had been working from her laptop, having conference calls with important clients overseas while she bought groceries in the store she had once upon a time had worked, talking to her boss over Skype in her old bedroom.

It wasn't like her mother's house was going anywhere. She could afford to take a break from it for a day or so.

* * *

"When did we get this?" asked Larry towards Piper as he held up the Poppy Red jar of sugar.

"Uh?" asked Piper in confusion as she looked up from where she was loading the dishwasher and over at her husband. "Oh...it's not ours. It's the neighbours."

"They gave you a full jar of sugar?" replied Larry in amazement. "Just like that?"

"Yeah," murmured Piper as she closed the dishwasher closed a moment later and stood up. "They didn't need it. They even said to keep the jar, but I'm going to return it or at least replace it."

"Wow," said Larry as he continued to eye the jar. "People are extremely nice here. Like if you had went to go knock on any of our old neighbour's apartment doors they would have to go fuck yourself."

Piper just smiled in return to this remark. Sure, people were nice here, she thought but it still didn't make her miss the City any less. She missed her old crabby neighbours and hearing the bickering of the neighbours below her. She missed her tenant, Mr. Chow. She missed everything really about her old life before she was married. She knew everything was new at the moment and eventually she would come around to her new house and the suburbs.

"How about we make some _sugar_ of our own?" Larry had now abandoned the jar of sugar back onto the kitchen counter and was coming towards where Piper stood against the dishwasher.

Piper rolled her eyes slightly at Larry's lame line. He was such a loser, she thought. However, he was her loser and she did love him and his lameness. The blonde's laugher rang out as Larry pounced on her. His hands were at her waist while his lips began to attack the hollow of her neck. She immediatly closed her eyes as her hands went to rest on his chest.

The couple's mouths soon found each other, crashing together with passion.

"Let's make a baby," whispered Larry in between kisses, his hands slowly slipping underneath the skirt of his wife's dress.

"Okay," whispered back Piper breathlessly. "Let's go upstairs." She attempted to pull away from Larry but he tightened his hold on her.

"No...right here," he murmured back. His eyes were dark with lust as they met Piper's. "I want you right here...on the dishwasher."

"Really?" stated Piper. "You want to conceive our child on the dishwasher?!"

Larry just smiled at her for a second, thinking that she was joking but Piper was serious. She wanted to conceive their child in a some what romantic matter. Not by Larry taking her from behind while the dishwasher ran.

"We could call it, Whirlpool..." teased Larry as he leaned in, attempting to kiss Piper again.

"I like Maytag better," whispered Piper with a smile.

"Sold!"

They held each other's gaze for a second longer before sharing a tender kiss.

"Plus, you know I'm more of a dryer kind of girl."

* * *

Piper closed her eyes and breathed in the heavy scent of jasmine from the bubble bath. Alanis Morissette's Ironic was playing softly from the radio.

It was a little later on in the night now and after a heavy yet brief love session with Larry, the blonde found herself in one of her favourite places, the tub. She loved to take long bathes and come out feeling clean.

There seemed to be a lot on her mind as she lay in the warm water of the bath. She was thinking about her life and the unknown territory she was entering, with not only the business she was starting with Polly, but with her marriage. Everything familiar had been taken away from her suddenly it seemed. That wasn't a bad thing, just more of a observation in the broad scheme of things. She had quit her previous, steady paying office job to start her own line of organic, handmade soaps with her best friend. Both didn't know the first thing about running a business really, but figured they would learn on the way. Not having a income coming in was a little scary for her to think about. She had never really been without money before. Of course, she had saved up, but it wasn't enough to live on for the rest of her life. So not only was she kinda unemployed at the moment, but she was living in a foreign new town. And sure, she had Larry with her but they were in a new chapter of their relationship too. They were married. She was bond to him by law. She wasn't use to being depended on someone like she was now.

And soon, she might become pregnant. It wasn't like she hadn't asked for all this. The husband, the house in the suburbs and a baby. She wanted this. She did. It just seemed like it was all happening so quickly. Piper couldn't help but feel like she had been plucked from the old comfortable life she had once known and dropped into a shiny new one.

A heavy sigh escaped from the blonde's lips as she sank herself lower into the tub. Her nipples were hard as the AC kicked in and filled the room slowly with a cold breeze. A tinkle of arousal came over her suddenly at this. It started in the pit of her stomach and slowly spread. Without really thinking about it, her hands flew to her breasts and immediatly began to play with her nipples.

Her eyes closed as she thought back to her love session earlier with her husband. She allowed for the scene to play our in her head for a moment or two before switching to a more satisfying image to get off on. Don't get her wrong, she loved having sex with her husband, but her mind tended to drift to more erotic past experiences when getting herself off.

A small whimper escaped from her lips as the tiniest wave of pleasure washed through her. One hand stayed on her breast, pulling roughly on the nipple as the other traveled slowly down her navel to her cunt. Her fingers brushed slowly at her folds before isolating her clit. She was thinking about the first time she had ever been with a woman. It had been such a pleasure, such a fucking rush to her twenty year old self. It had opened her up to a whole other side of herself that she hadn't known existed in her before. She had never considered herself a sexual person really until that moment.

God, she missed being with women, sometimes.

She loved the feel of dick slamming into her, but there was just something about the hands of another woman on her that she loved even more. Sex wasn't just soft, intimate and tender but hot, passionate and rough. All bundled up into one big ball of eroticness.

As the blonde's fingers deepened their touch and rubbed against her throbbing clit, the image of her first woman lover emerged into another. However, this wasn't a former lover or any one from her past really. It was of a familiar yet unfamiliar face.

Alex's face filled Piper's mind and stayed there until she climaxed.

Her heart was racing as she removed her hands from her body and sat up in the tub. Water splashed over the edge and onto the floor at this abrupt movement. She suddenly felt feverish and sickly. It wasn't because she had just masturbated, but because who she had masturbated to. This wasn't the first time she had fantasised about a complete stranger. It's just that Alex wasn't really a stranger. She was her neighbour. She, guessed she was just more shocked than anything else. Yes, she had wanted Alex to kiss her earlier in the house. And yes, she could admit that Alex was beautiful. But, it had been a while since she had felt an attraction to someone other than her husband. Especially, a woman.

Those nervous, excited jitters from before once again resurfaced as she continued to think about her extremely sexy neighbour across the street.

* * *

The night air was cool as Alex walked home from the bar.

The streets were deafening quiet. Everything around here shut down once the sunset. She had to admit, it was a nice chance to walk down the street at night and not get harassed by men or other drunks like she did in the City.

She was slightly tipsy, but not drunk as she made her way home.

It kinda felt surreal to her every time she walked home late at night like this. It reminded her of her youth at times. The neighbour had changed a bit since she was a teenager, but it was pretty much the same as she remembered it being. Especially at night. It looked the same at night.

As she approached her own house, she couldn't help but look across the street at Piper's. Ever since her conversation with Nicky, all she could think about her blonde neighbour.

And now in her drunken state she appeared up at the second story window where she now knew were the bedroom was. She stood there at the edge of her driveway, wondering if Piper was asleep or not. She assumed that she was by the darkness of the window. However, as if someone had read her mind, a flicker of a light appeared suddenly from within. There was a cast of a shadow against the wall.

Someone was awake and moving around the room, Alex noted. She squinted slightly in the light casting on her from the street lamp. She hoped that it wasn't the husband, but Piper moving around at this late hour.

Her pulse picked up slightly in anticipation as she prayed for whoever it was to show their face.

And again like a sign from up above, a shadow appeared in the window. A small smile appeared on the brunette's face as she once again took in the sight of a topless Piper.

* * *

Thanks for reading and please review!

Julie


	7. Chapter 7

Do not own Orange Is the New Black or any of the characters.

I'm glad to hear that you guys don't mind the slow progression that is Vauseman in this story. Again, I'm sorry for the late update. I'm trying to get back into a routine of updating more frequently.

Enjoy.

* * *

The sharp smell of bleach filled Alex's nostrils as she took a deep breath, preparing herself. God, she hated it here. They really needed to figure out a way to make these places a lot more inviting, she thought. It was already depressing enough to think about what went on in here. And the smell just added to the depression.

She'd thought the retirement home her mother had been in earlier had been morose, but this place was ten times worse. At least the retirement home had been cozy in its way. This place was just sterile and cold. She hated to say it, but it smelled like death.

There were no happy endings here.

This was the place her mother was going to die.

Alex tried not to think about that though as she walked down the hallway towards her mother's small room at the end. The nurse behind the desk looked up at her briefly and smiled as she past. The brunette just nodded her head back in acknowledgement. She didn't feel like making small talk today.

She just wanted to get this whole visit with her mother over quickly. She knew that made her sound like a brat. But there was a reason she only made this visit once a week. It was just too damn hard to see the empty shell her mother had become.

"How is she today?" she asked as she stepped into her mother's hospital room and noticed the nurse in there.

The nurse, a plump woman in her late thirties with red hair, turned to look at Alex. She smiled at her before speaking. "She's good," she said simply.

It was what they always said to her. That her mother was good today or she was well. Alex didn't bother to reply, just simply nodding her head as she walked further into the room and stood at the edge of the bed.

It was then that she turned her attention away from the nurse, which read Wanda on the name tag pinned to the breast pocket of her scrubs, and onto her mother. Vacant light-blue eyes stared back at her.

Her mother didn't recognize her, and it had been like that for over a year now.

Alex's mother had been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's six years ago, just after her 55th birthday, and her condition had rapidly deteriorated since then. It had started slowly at first with her losing her memory every now and then, but she now couldn't even recognize the face of her own daughter, or anything really.

She held her mother's blank gaze for a second before looking away. She looked up at the ceiling, trying to compose herself. She hated to cry over seeing her mother like this. She just couldn't get over the fact that her mother, the only family she had ever had, didn't know who she was anymore.

She moved towards the window, pretending to be absorbed in something outside while waiting for Nurse Wanda to leave.

"Your daughter is here, Suzy." She heard the nurse whisper to her mother, who she knew wouldn't answer back. "I bet you're happy to see her, right, hon?"

Maybe deep down, her mother was happy to see her, but Alex knew that she wouldn't have any way of showing it to her. She had long ago given up hope that her mother, the strong, loud, blunt essence of a woman that she had been, was gone. The brunette wasn't stupid. She didn't believe in miracles. When the doctors explained to her that her mother's memory wouldn't be coming back, she believed them. Because it was the truth. She saw it each time she looked at her mother's face and saw the blankness behind her once vibrantly blue eyes.

The person her mother had once been was long gone.

* * *

"Anyone home?" called out Lorna Morello as she pushed open the slightly open front door of the Bloom household. She peeked her head inside and looked down the long hallway. "Hello?" she called out again, her voice echoing slightly against the walls.

"Hello?" called back a male voice.

Lorna jumped a little at hearing this unfamiliar voice. She assumed that this was Piper's husband, Larry, whom she had yet to meet.

"Hi," squeaked Lorna in reply as she looked up at the figure who had begun descending the stairs. She smiled apologetically at the curly-haired man. "Your door was open."

Larry just smiled in return as he finally got to the bottom of the stairs. "I can see that the door is open."

"I was looking for Piper. You must be her husband. I'm Lorna Morello. I live just down the road," explained Lorna in a nervous bubble of excitement.

"You're the one who brought the cookies."

"Yes."

"They were good," stated Larry with a smile. "I'm Larry, by the way." He held out his hand for Lorna to shake. Piper had told him briefly about Lorna and the other women she had met a week ago from the neighborhood.

"It's nice to meet you." Lorna once again smiled warmly at Larry as she shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you too."

"Is your wife around?" asked Lorna as she looked over Larry's shoulder as if Piper would appear from behind him.

"Piper just went for a run. She should be back any minute now though," explained Larry. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Just as Lorna was about to open her mouth to reply, the blonde in question made a sudden appearance.

"Oh! Hello there!" Piper smiled at Lorna as she realized who it was standing in her house with her husband. She took her earbuds out of her ears and wiped the sweat away from her brow.

"Hi, Piper," greeted back Lorna with a wave. "Ah, look at you! Always running!" Her eyes gleamed with amusement as a grin hovered on her face. She made a motion with her arms, indicating that Piper always seemed to be on the move.

Piper just laughed dryly at this. She looked briefly over at Larry as she stepped further into the house, wrapping the cord of the earbuds around her neck.

"Lorna here was looking for you," spoke Larry.

"Oh. What can I help you with?" The blonde once again returned her attention to her neighbour. She was taken aback by this. She didn't know why Lorna would be looking for her. The two women's paths hadn't crossed since Lorna had brought over the cookies.

"Nothing like that. I was just coming over here to invite both you and Larry over to the high school tonight. They're having a little fundraiser for new uniforms for the football team."

"Isn't it a little early for that?" asked Larry with a smirk. "Like, it's just the beginning of summer now."

"We take our fundraising very seriously around here," replied Lorna with a tight smile. "Our boys train very hard throughout the whole year. And they need new uniforms for the start of the new season. "

"Okay," murmured Larry.

"How can we help?" asked Piper, stepping in, trying to mend the bridges. She never realized how important the local football team's uniforms would be, but she guessed since it was such a small town that these things did matter.

"Like I said, there is a fundraiser tonight. It isn't anythin' fancy. Just a barbeque and bake sale, really. There will be some local bands playing too though. Nice little outing for a date, you know. My Christopher always loves going down and supporting the kids. A few years ago, they had a carnival and got a few of those traveling rides to come down. Like a Ferris wheel and bouncy castle for the little ones. And all the kids were running these fun games like Lucky Duck and the one where you throw the ball and try to knock down the bottles, you know that one? Well, anyways, Christopher ended up buying me this little brown teddy bear! It was so sweet!"

"Christopher is Lorna's fiancé," explained Piper briefly to Larry, who looked confused at the mention of Christopher. "Aw, that's sweet. Larry played one of those games in Coney Island one time. Don't you remember, Larry?"

Piper was smiling as she thought back to that day when Larry had taken her to the famous amusement park. It was when they had just begun going out. "He played that game where you have to toss the ring onto the bottle..."

"The ring toss!" added Larry.

"YES! Yes! The ring toss!" cried Piper in excitement. "Well...he couldn't get the damn ring onto the neck of the bottle. He must have played that game for ages, wasting all his change on it."

"I was determined to win you a prize," offered Larry. "I was trying to impress you with my moves."

Piper rolled her eyes at her husband, but couldn't help but smile stupidly as she continued to think about that day. It had turned out to be a fairly good day.

"Did he end up winning you a prize?" asked Lorna, who was totally absorbed into this tale. She lived for romance and stories of couples like this.

"No," laughed Piper.

"What do you mean no? I ended up winning you that penguin."

"You didn't win it though! You ended up paying the teenager running the game like 50 bucks for it," explained Piper, teasing her husband.

"Whatever," replied Larry. "I got the penguin for you in the end, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did," agreed Piper as she leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to her husband's mouth. As she pulled back, she realised that Lorna was still here. She had completely forgotten why she was here again. Luckily, Larry remembered though.

"So, what time should we be at this fundraiser?"

"Well, there's no real set time. It starts at six and goes until around ten or so," replied Lorna cheerfully to the couple.

"We'll be there," stated Larry, answering for the both of them.

* * *

"I can't believe you dragged me out to this fucking thing," grumbled Alex as she followed Nicky through the crowd of people. The high school field was flooded with people of all ages, mingling about. Somewhere in the distance a band was playing a really bad cover version of "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone."

She had been surprised that Nicky had even wanted to go to the local high school fundraiser. It wasn't a place that either had been keen on in their youth. However, she knew her friend's interest in attending probably had more to do with the cute little Italian woman who had invited them than the desire to relive their teenagehood.

"Come on, Vause! Where's your school spirit?" teased Nicky as she cast a sideways glance at the tall brunette.

"I never had a school spirit, and you, of all people, should know this," replied Alex somewhat grumpily. Growing up, Alex had hated any sort of school fundraiser or event. She had loathed with a passion pep rallies and anything that required cheering and the wave.

"Come on...it's for a fucking good cause," continued on Nicky.

"Oh yeah...because new football uniforms is such a pressing issue in this world!" Alex's voice dripped with sarcasm. There were a ton of other places she could think of that she'd rather be than standing in the middle of her old high school's football field.

"What did Morello say? It's for 'our boys'!" laughed Nicky as she got in the long queue for the food. She looked briefly at the back of the curly-haired man standing in front of her before turning her attention onto Alex again.

"Gosh, she made it fucking sound like it was for our troops and not for some cheap polyester jerseys for a bunch of oversized teenaged jocks," spoke Alex as she got in line behind Nicky and crossed her arms over her chest. She was only here to get herself some food before heading back home where she had a nice cold beer waiting for her in the fridge.

However, Alex's thoughts of the beer quickly faded from her mind as a familiar voice filled her ears.

"They only had Dr. Pepper left," stated Piper as she came to stand beside her husband and held out a can towards him.

"I guess it'll have to do," replied Larry as he took the can from Piper and smiled.

Alex stood there frozen watching as the couple exchanged a brief kiss. She felt something slither in the pit of her stomach that she wasn't used to feeling. She was both repulsed and jealous of the couple's display of affection. She hadn't met Piper's husband yet, but she was already experiencing a strong dislike of the man.

A look of amusement appeared on Nicky's face as she looked up at Alex. She had already suspected that her friend had some sort of a fledgling crush for her neighbour, but seeing the look currently on her face just further confirmed this notion. Things were just about to get interesting, she thought gleefully to herself as she looked over at the couple in front of them.

Piper had yet to notice who was standing behind her and Larry.

The blonde leaned into Larry, allowing him to wrap his arm around her waist and slip his hand into one of the back pockets of her jean shorts.

Alex ignored the look on Nicky's face as she found herself implacably absorbed herself in this small detail before her. Her eyes were glued somewhat to Piper's ass and where her husband's hand had disappeared to. She knew it was an innocent touch, but she couldn't help but be repulsed by it. She hated to think about what that hand was doing in that pocket.

It wasn't until the line began to move slowly that Piper finally turned to see who was behind her. Her blue eyes widened as she locked eyes with Alex. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks slightly as her mind immediately went to her fantasy of Alex last night in the tub.

"Hi," she murmured.

"Hey," replied Alex.

There was a brief awkward silence between the two women as they continued to stare at each other before Larry was turning around to look to see who his wife was talking to.

"Who's this?" asked Larry towards his wife.

"Larry, this is Alex. She lives across the street...Alex, this is my husband, Larry," explained Piper, suddenly feeling very nervous to be introducing them to each other. She wasn't exactly sure why she was nervous. Alex wasn't anything in her life, really. She was just her neighbour who she casually thought of in a sexual way and had borrowed cups of sugar from.

"Ah...the sugar lady," joked Larry.

Alex just stiffened a smile, a bit irrationally ticked off by this nickname Larry had apparently been using. This guy clearly thought he was funny or something, she thought as she continued to study him. This was the first time she was seeing the husband up close. She was surprised that he wasn't a male version of Piper. Hot people usually traveled in pairs. She wasn't saying that this Larry guy wasn't attractive looking enough for Piper... Okay, maybe she was saying that. However, that wasn't the point at all here.

The two of them shook hands briefly in introduction.

"And this is Nicky," spoke Piper as she turned Larry's attention onto the short busy-haired woman standing beside Alex.

"I don't live anywhere near you," added Nicky as she stuck out her hand to shake with Larry.

"She's friends with Alex and Lorna, who you met earlier at the house," continued to explain Piper.

"Oh, yeah?" commented Larry.

"Yeah," replied Nicky slyly. She exchanged a brief look with Alex before turning her attention once again onto the couple. She was clearly amused by this whole situation. Piper and Alex were clearly uncomfortable, and Larry seemed oblivious to what was going on between them. Not that anything had happened...yet that was.

"So tell us more about yourself Larry...what do you do for a living?" asked Nicky. She didn't really know what Piper did for a living either.

"Oh. I'm a writer," answered Larry, slightly taken aback by the question.

"Oh, really. That's interesting because I'm a little bit of a writer myself," spoke Nicky with interest.

"Since the fuck when?" asked Alex in suddenly amusement. Out of the whole time she had known Nicky, she had never seen her write a damn word.

"Well...I wouldn't say I'm a writer per se. Not professionally. But I do like to dabble in the writing of the words at times," explained Nicky. "I'm more of a poet."

"Ah," replied Larry with a nod of his head.

Alex brought a hand up to her mouth and tried to stifle her laughter. Nicky was clearly messing with Larry.

"Larry's actually really good," added Piper. "He's currently working on an article for the Times."

"They don't want to hear about that, Pipes." Larry met his wife's eye and smiled at her. He once again slipped his hand around her waist.

The smirk from Alex's face faded as she watched this exchange. She tried not to let it show though. As much as she knew she wouldn't be hanging out with Larry after this little meet and greet, she did want to stay in Piper's good books. And scolding her husband, probably wouldn't get her very far.

"So what do you do?" Piper asked Alex with sudden interest. Out of the few times she'd met the brunette, she hadn't learned what she did for a living.

"I work for an international drug cartel."

Piper just stared at Alex for a moment. She didn't know if she was being serious or not. She'd said it so blankly, without a trace of emotion on her face.

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Alex let out a raspy chuckle. "I'm just fucking with you, kid. I am in the drug business, but more pharmaceutical then recreational."

Piper let out a snort of laughter in reply to this. She probably laughed a little too hard, but she didn't really care. She was overcome with excited jitters as she continued to look at Alex.

Alex couldn't help but grin back at the blonde. If this had been anywhere else and it had just been the two of them, the brunette would have made her feelings quite known at this point. Maybe with a light touch to the inside of her wrist, and a smouldering look here, and a low whisper there. However, she needed to control herself. They very much had an audience here with Nicky and Piper's husband.

"I told her she should go with the drug cartel...more fucking money there," joked Nicky. Her eyes shifted slightly to what was happening between Alex and Piper. They were clearly falling for one another. And this poor Larry guy, she thought as she looked over at him, was either stupid or blind to what was going on right in front of him.

Just then, the line decided to move once again, forcing the couple to turn around and walk ahead. Alex caught Nicky's eye briefly as she slowly shuffled her feet behind them.

Larry still had his arm around Piper's waist which was having a real effect on her mood that she didn't want it. She had already been in a bad mood to begin with since that morning with the visit to her mother and now with being at her old high school against her will and better judgment. And now seeing the happy couple together? She really felt depressed and moody as ever now.

Piper could feel the heat of Alex's eyes on her back as she walked ahead. She fumbled with the tab of the pop can she had clenched in her hands.

"What can I get you?" asked a older woman with fiery red hair. Her blue eyes looked impatiently at the couple.

"Whatcha got?" Larry asked the woman behind the table.

"Hot dogs, sausages, hamburgers, corn-on-the-cob..." She read out the list in a bored tone, having read out the same list of items for the past hour.

"We're out of sausages, Red!" called out the woman who was managing the grill.

"Thank you, Gina!" called back the Russian woman before looking back at the couple. "We're out of..."

"Sausages," added Larry with a quirk of a smile on his face. "We heard."

This Red woman just looked at Larry coldly. She was clearly not impressed by him interrupting her like he had. "What will you have?" she asked dryly.

"Now...what kind of meat is it?" asked Piper with curiosity. "Like where did you get your meat from? Is it hormone-free? I just finished reading that book "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Foer or something like that, and he talks about the condition of meat nowadays and what goes on in slaughterhouses. It's really an eye-opener."

Red again look unimpressed by this bit of information. "We have veggie burgers too. If you don't eat meat," she said bluntly.

"Oh. Veggie...I guess," murmured Piper a little taken aback.

"And for you?" Red asked Larry. The Russian woman's patience was running thin by this point. She hated how people in this town couldn't make a damn decision fast enough. No wonder the line was going so slowly.

"Hamburger," replied Larry. "Unlike my wife, I don't care if my meat is hormone-filled or not!" He laughed at his own joke.

"Corn?"

"Sure, throw in two of those too."

"Twelve dollars please," asked Red, holding out her hand.

"I suppose you don't do air-miles here, do you?" asked Larry as he pulled out a wallet from the back pocket of his jeans. He was once again attempting to crack a smile on the Russian's face, but again she did not budge.

He looked over at Piper briefly as he pulled a twenty dollar bill out of his wallet and handed it over to Red. "Keep the change," he added.

Red was taken aback by this slightly. Her blue eyes pierced Larry, studying his face for a moment before smiling. The couple bid her a good night before moving to the side, waiting for their food to be cooked.

"Hey, Mommy!" cried out Nicky as she approached the table and greeted Red warmly.

"Aw, this is a surprise!" cried Red as she closed the cashbox and looked up at Nicky and Alex. "I haven't seen you two on this field in a very long time."

"Hi, Red," spoke Alex.

"Yeah, we thought we would finally show some of that school spirit..."explained Nicky with a grin.

"Well, I'm glad you decided to come. Lorna was worried that you wouldn't."

"You spoke to Morello?"

"Yes. She was here earlier," replied Red as she reached for something underneath the table. "She was looking for you."

"Well...she shouldn't be fucking lookin' for me," stated Nicky coldly, the grin quickly disappearing from her face. "And she shouldn't be asking you about me either."

"Don't act like a child, Nicky. You knew she had a fiancé."

Nicky's brown eyes darkened as a scowl appeared across her face. Why did everyone keep on throwing the damn fiancé in her face like that?

"So, what can I get for you, my girls?" asked Red, ignoring the look her daughter was currently giving her.

"Well, we just heard your burgers are filled with hormones, so I dunno..." snuffed back Nicky childishly.

"Please do not talk about hormones and meat...I've already gotten an earful already today about the state of this country's meat industry and slaughter houses," groaned Red.

"Here," stated Red as she slid to small bags of potato chips towards Alex and Nicky. Usually chips were extra, but she gave them for free to her girls.

"Thank you, Mommy!" Nicky's anger from earlier was gone as she took the bag of chips from the older woman and smiled.

"Thanks, Red!" chimed Alex with a smile. It still amazed her that after all these years, Red still treated her like one of her own. Of course, she had known Red really since she had been a child. Red and her mom had worked together for years in the high school cafeteria and then later when Red opened up her own restaurant with her husband.

"How is your mother doing?" asked Red in a low voice towards Alex.

"She's the same," she answered with a shrug of her shoulders. Her mother's condition hadn't changed in a while, and it probably would stay like that.

Red didn't say anything else after this. She just studied Alex's face for a moment before nodding her head in understanding. She knew there was nothing she could say to make Alex feel better. There was nothing they could do about her mother's condition.

Alex was grateful for Red's silence. She was tired of people telling her to stay strong and apologizing about her mother's health, like it was their fault or something that she was practically a empty shell. The brunette just stood there listening to Nicky and Red talk about something that didn't really interest her.

Piper tried to pay attention to what Larry was saying, but she couldn't help but keep on looking back at Alex. She watched how easily she and Nicky interacted with the woman behind the table. She studied them all, watching as someone made a joke and they all laughed. She was suddenly very intrigued by what the joke might have been about.

"Food's up!" cried out Gina from the grill. She took the two burgers off of it and onto two buns that rested nearby on paper plates. Each had half a corn-on-the-cob on it. A moment later, they were being handed over to Larry and Piper.

"Thanks," murmured Larry towards Gina just as she was turning her back and throwing two other frozen patties onto the grill.

"Thank you," called out Piper over her shoulder as she began to follow Larry to another table where an arrangement of condiments had been laid out.

* * *

Piper cradled the can of lukewarm soda in her hands as she leaned against the brick wall of the school. She was lost in thought as her eyes searched the crowd of people in front of her.

It was a little later on in the evening now. The sun was just lowering itself in the distance west. The air was comfortable as a night breeze blew gently over her. The band from earlier had been replaced with a DJ, who was currently playing a loud top-40 song. A group of young teenaged girls were laughing and dancing in front of the makeshift stage.

The blonde couldn't help but smile as she watched the group of teenagers dance about. It reminded her of her own youth and how carefree her days had been back then.

As the loud music continued to assault her ears, she didn't hear someone approach.

"Hey!"

Piper turned immediately as she felt the touch of someone's hand brush up against her bare forearm.

"Hey," she replied back as she locked eyes with Alex.

The two women just stood there awkwardly for a moment, looking at one another.

"Where's your husband?" asked Alex with curiosity. She adjusted her glasses ever so slightly on her nose as she continued to peer at the blonde. She had been heading home when she saw Piper standing there alone.

"Oh. He went home," spoke Piper over the music.

"Home?" asked Alex in amusement.

"Yeah." Piper nodded her head slightly at this. "He went to go work on his article."

"And just left you here. What kinda husband is that?"

"I told him to go. He has this big deadline to meet," explained Piper, leaning slightly into Alex so she could hear her better.

"A woman who makes her own decisions," observed Alex. "I like that." Her eyes darkened slightly as she watched Piper's face. Piper's eyes widened slightly at this, but she did not quiver away like Alex thought she would.

There was a brief moment of silence between them as Piper shyly looked away and back over to the crowd of girls dancing still.

"Was that ever you?" she asked out of curiosity towards Alex, pointing to the teenagers.

Alex laughed and shook her head, "Fuck no!" As a teenager, she would never have been caught dead shaking her ass in public like that, not least to some stupid pop song. Even now as an adult, she rarely danced, unless it was at a club and she had a certain amount of alcohol in her body. "That was me!" She pointed to a group of teenagers seated on the bleachers, far away from the crowds. She'd spent a majority of her time on those bleachers during school time. She had a vivid memory of hooking up with one of her numerous girlfriends underneath those bleachers during senior year.

"Awh," whispered Piper as looked at the five or six teenagers seated at the top of the bleachers all dressed in black despite the summer heat. She couldn't help but be reminded of a group of crows seated on a telephone wire, looking down and observing the people below. "I was more of that," replied Piper as she gestured back to the group of girls dancing.

Alex just smirked at this. She could easily picture it too. A young Piper with her hair pulled up into one of those high ponytails, displaying the curve of her long elegant neck, dancing like she didn't have a care in the world.

"Where's Nicky?" asked Piper as she once again turned to face Alex. She took a sip from her soda as she did so.

"Don't know really," replied Alex. "I lost her ages ago now. She's probably trying to hook up with one of those hippie chicks that are running the beverage stand."

"Aren't those students?" cried Piper in astonishment.

Alex just shrugged her shoulders at this. "Clearly, you don't know Nicky. She won't care if they're underage or not. As long as they look older, that's all that matters."

The brunette couldn't help but laugh at the look on the blonde's face. She was clearly in shock of this news that Nicky would attempt to hook up with teenagers. However, Alex knew for a fact that the girl that Nicky was trying to pursue at the moment was not a student any longer at the high school and had, in fact, just come back from her first year at Columbia.

"You're fucking with me...aren't you?" point out Piper as she studied Alex's face. The brunette was clearly pulling her leg, she thought as she continued to grin. It was true she didn't know Nicky that well or her sexual ways. But she did hope that she would know better than to target underaged girls, no matter how "legal" they looked.

Alex tried to hold back her smile as Piper continued to look at her. "...Maybe" she admitted after a moment.

"Fuck you," replied Piper teasingly. She then did something that took both of them by surprise. With her free hand, she playfully shoved Alex in the shoulder. It was a gesture she did when she was trying to act mad but wasn't really.

Alex's eyes gleamed with amusement. She looked down at her shoulder, where Piper's touch had burned her skin and back up. She didn't know whether to laugh, smile or shove her back.

However, instead of doing any of those things, she did something else. Without breaking eye-contact with the blonde, she took a small step towards her. There was only a few inches between their bodies now.

Piper just stood frozen to the spot, watching Alex in anticipation. She could feel her heart rate accelerate as excitement and nervous energy flittered through her system.

"Let's get out of here," whispered Alex into Piper's ear.

* * *

Thanks for reading and please review!

Julie


	8. Chapter 8

Do not own Orange Is the New Black or any of the characters.

* * *

Piper trailed behind Alex like a puppy dog as the taller woman lead her away from the high school. She had no idea on where they were going, and that was okay with her. She was intrigued by the brunette and wanted to get to know her better.

"Where are we going?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out," teased Alex as she turned around to face her and began to walk backwards along the sidewalk.

Piper was quiet as she watched Alex walk along the edge of the sidewalk like it was a tightrope. She couldn't help but smile at how young and carefree the grown woman looked. Alex came off so serious and put-together to her. She was a little surprised to see this childish side of her. It intrigued her even more.

"What?" asked Alex noticing Piper's intense stare.

"Nothing," whispered Piper, shaking her head and smiling in embarrassment. She hadn't meant to get caught staring, but she just couldn't seem to help herself. There was just something about her neighbour that sparked something in her.

Alex chuckled at the blonde's embarrassment before turning around and continuing to lead the way. She wasn't really sure where she was leading the blonde. She had just wanted to get away from that noisy football field and go somewhere more private with Piper. She knew that the blonde was married, which automatically meant that she was stepping into sticky territory at the very least. Territory that even she wasn't sure about herself. She knew that she liked the blonde and thought she had a hot body. But Alex was taken herself, despite what Nicky thought of her relationship with Wren. And maybe she was only interested in her neighbour because she was stuck here in her old boring neighbourhood that was full of unhappy memories. And Piper was some new shiny exotic toy.

Whatever it was though, the brunette didn't give it much more thought. She was tired of thinking and grieving. Her life had become serious and painful in the past few years, especially with respect to her mom's deteriorating health.

Ever since she had turned thirty, it didn't seem so much like she had lost herself really, but she missed her youth and the carefree attitude and energy that came with it. Maybe that was why she was going out with Wren, who was ten years younger than she was. It gave her an excuse to stay out late in the middle of the work week, partying and pretending she wasn't actually approaching middle age.

"So what do you do, Piper Chapman?" asked the brunette suddenly. She had begun walking backwards once again along the sidewalk in order to face her. She had yet to learn what the blonde did for a living. She just hoped she wasn't just some boring housewife like everyone seemed to be around here.

"What do I do?" asked back Piper stupidly.

"Yeah," laughed Alex in amusement. "What do you do? Like what's your job? What do you do to earn money?"

"Okay. Okay...I got it!" cried back Piper. She was silent for a second as she thought about the best way to reply. "I kinda own a business." She didn't know really how to explain what she did as a job. Yes, she was a businesswoman in a sense. However, it wasn't going as well as she had originally envisioned. Polly hadn't returned any of her phone calls about starting up the website or attempting to get their line, PoPi, into stores.

"You kinda own a business?" Alex cocked an eyebrow. "How do you kinda own a business?"

"Well...I own a business," affirmed Piper nervously. "It's with my friend, Polly."

"And what do you do with this business that you kinda own with your friend, Polly?" asked Alex with a smirk.

"I...we...we make soap."

"Soap?"

"Yeah," answered Piper. "It's all organic and handmade. We started in Polly's kitchen one day."

"Cool," replied Alex. She didn't know what else to say to this. She knew nothing about how boutique-type soaps how they were made or much about them just in general.

An awkward silence fell between the two women as they continued to walk along the street. Piper shoved her hands into the pockets of her shorts, looking anywhere but at Alex. She couldn't help but feel like an idiot. Alex probably thought she was some boring housewife who just made soap to keep herself occupied and said it was a business to sound smart.

"So, really...where are we going?" she asked, once again trying to keep up the conversation.

"I dunno," replied Alex honestly. "I just needed to get away from that fucking place."

"So we're just going for a walk then, basically?" spoke Piper. "I thought for sure that you were going to show me the underbelly of this town."

"The underbelly of the town?" A smile cracked across the brunette's face in amusement. "What? Are we in a fucking Nancy Drew mystery or something?"

"You know what I mean," replied back Piper, grinning abashedly. "I thought you were taking me to someplace cool."

"Trust me. Not a fucking place like that exists in this godforsaken town," explained Alex, who had stopped walking backwards and had moved to walk in step with Piper.

"You really hate it here," observed Piper, noting the bitter tone in the other woman's voice. "Don't you?"

Alex just cast a sideways glance at the blonde before shrugging her shoulders. "I'd much rather be in the city."

Piper nodded her head in understanding to this. She missed the city too. "I love the city," she murmured.

"So why the hell did you move out here?"

It was Piper's turn to shrug her shoulders. "Polly moved out here."

"And you do whatever this Polly does?" Alex meant this as a joke.

"No," snapped Piper slightly irritated. She hated how everyone inevitably compared her in some way to her best friend. "I don't do whatever she does. It's just...you know...once you get married...and are of a certain age...the city isn't the place to raise kids, you know, or so every on tells me."

"No, I don't know really, but sure," replied Alex blankly. This was the first time she was hearing about Piper wanting to have babies. The idea didn't sit well with her for some reason. It made her a little uncomfortable to think of her neighbour pregnant. Not because she had anything against pregnancy really. She had just been inexplicably sure that Piper would be one of those women who carried all in the front. It was just that it made her realize even more that she was probably barking up the wrong tree. Piper was not only straight, but she was married and was probably hoping to have a few kids soon.

An sudden awkward silence again settled between the two of them. They had seemed to hit a road block in the conversation with the mention of kids.

Piper didn't know what to make of the sudden tension. She hadn't meant to make Alex feel uncomfortable with the mention of raising a family, and frankly, she didn't know if she should be feeling awkward about this anyways. She didn't have to explain anything to Alex, who was practically a stranger. However, she felt like she had to smooth over this awkwardness some how.

"It was Larry's idea to move out here," she confessed in a whisper. "I loved my apartment in the City."

"Where did you live?" asked Alex as she glanced over at her.

"Tribeca," replied Piper.

"Cool. I live near there."

"Really!?" cried Piper suddenly getting excited over hearing this.

"Yeah..." laughed Alex. "I live in Greenwich Village."

"I can't believe we never ran into each other before," continued Piper.

"Why?" asked Alex cocking an eyebrow at the blonde. "New York City is a big place."

"I know," murmured Piper, feeling somewhat stupid again. She downcast her eyes onto the surface of the cement. "It's just that The Village isn't that far from Tribeca."

"It is," replied Alex as she began to lead Piper across the street. "But I think I would remember seeing you around." She turned slowly to face the blonde and winked. She wanted to bring the conversation back to light and fun. And there was only one way she knew how to do that - by flirting.

"So is this where you use to hang out as a teenager?" asked Piper with interest as she took a seat on the picnic table beside the brunette. Her eyes looked around the vacant park, taking in the baseball diamond and wooden play structures in the distance before falling back onto Alex.

"Pretty much," admitted Alex with a small curl of her lips. "There wasn't a whole lot of other options."

"I guess it doesn't matter where you grow up really. There's always a park that seems to be the local teen hangout," observed Piper as she thought back to her own home town in Connecticut. "There was a park near my house that I remember in my youth spending a lot of time in."

"Doing dirty things I hope," teased Alex, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.

Piper was thankful that the sun was setting and that Alex couldn't possibly see the redness in her cheeks at this moment. She wasn't quite sure of what to make of the brunette's flirting, but that didn't seem to stop her from feeling giddy inside.

"Come on, Chapman," urged Alex as she turned to face Piper better on the picnic bench. "Spill the beans. I bet you were a hot little number in high school." She wagged her eyebrows playfully as a grin spread across her face. She could just imagine Piper as some sort of cheerleader or queen bee in high school, batting away sultry eyelashes at some stupid jock trying to cup a feel in the backseat of a car.

Piper just shyly shrugged her shoulders and smiled weakly in response. "I was okay," she murmured. "I was a bit of a goodie-two-shoes girl, I hate to admit."

"Goodie-two-shoes girl? In what way? Like president of the celibacy club?"

"Oh. God. No," cried out Piper in disbelief. "I meant like nerdy. Like never stayed out past my curfew. Got straight A's and stuff like that."

The brunette tilted her head back at this and let out a raspy laugh. "So you did get some action!"

Piper held Alex's gaze for a second before shoving her again in the arm. "I bet you were such a player," she spoke after a moment had passed. She didn't know where that had come from. She didn't usually speak out so boldly to someone she knew very little about. However, she wanted to impress Alex in some way.

"I got some," replied Alex honestly. She hadn't been the most popular or likeable person in high school. But she had definitely managed to get some action nonetheless.

"I'm sure you did and probably right on this table," teased Piper as she slammed her hands down onto the wooden table top and smiled cheekily. "What else are picnic tables good for?"

"Oh, no. Never on the picnic tables," replied Alex with a serious expression. She slowly pushed her glasses up on top of her head and leaned slightly into Piper. Her green eyes traced the blonde's features before landing on her eyes. "Too public," she whispered. "Underneath the playscape was more of my place...if you know what I mean..."

A chill ran down Piper's back at feeling the warmth of Alex's breath against her bare skin. Her eyes darkened as she continued to look at the other woman. She felt the start of butterflies fluttering in her stomach as they continued to sit closely together on the table in the summer night heat. She could feel her own heat begin to stir between her thighs. She was a little scared by this very strong attraction she was suddenly becoming overcome with. It wasn't because Alex was a woman. It was more that she was married and wasn't supposed to be feeling these sorts of feelings for anyone but for the man that was her husband.

Alex debated on what to do.

She was fighting the urge to reach out and kiss the blonde. She was so damn close to her at the moment. She hadn't been really planning on taking her to her old hook-up spot and wooing her, but that had just sort of happened. And now that they were here, she couldn't stop old impulses from slowly taking over.

Her heart seemed to be racing as she continued to look at the doe-eyed blonde. She had never fought this hard with herself before. Usually, she didn't give a fuck about rules and relationship boundaries. If she liked someone and wanted them, she made sure she got them. Simple as that. She was used to having open relationships. However, everything seemed to be different this time around as she found herself studying Piper.

Screw it, she thought as she finally gave into impulse. The worse that could happen was that she misread Piper and the woman rejected the kiss.

Just as Alex leaned forward and her lips touched Piper's, the vibration of her cell phone interrupted them.

"Fuck," she swore as she pulled away and reached for the contraption in her pocket. Maybe it wasn't meant to be, she thought as she pushed her glasses back onto the bridge of her nose and looked down at the caller display, which flashed her girlfriend's name.

"Sorry," she murmured as she looked up towards Piper, who was looking back at her.

Piper opened her mouth to say something, but she didn't really know what to say. A part of her was disappointed that the kiss hadn't gone any further, but the other part was relieved. Not because she didn't want for Alex to kiss her, but because she was afraid that once it had started, she wouldn't be able to control herself.

An deafening silence fell over the two women as they sat there, simply looking at each other. Alex's phone still vibrated against her hand, but she made no real attempt to answer it. Not only did she not want to talk to Wren; she didn't want to talk to her in front of Piper.

"Aren't you going to answer it?" asked Piper softly, breaking the silence.

Alex, reaching up with her free hand and adjusted her glasses, downcast her eyes onto her phone again. She frowned as she looked at the screen. She knew that it wouldn't last much longer before the call finally went to voice mail. She just hoped that Wren wouldn't try to call again after that happened.

* * *

That's right, I'm ending it there.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review.

Julie


	9. Chapter 9

Do not own Orange Is the New Black or any of the characters.

This is a short chapter, but I promise the next two chapters after this one will be a lot more exciting and way longer.

Enjoy!

* * *

The almost-kiss lingered in Piper's mind for the rest of the week.

She knew that nothing had really happened between her and Alex. She'd gotten more action from her great-aunt Sandra at Christmas then what had happened between her and Alex. However, she couldn't get the feel of Alex's breath on her skin off of her mind. The softness of those lush lips brushing ever-so-slightly, barely touching hers out of her head.

She kept on replaying that almost-kiss over and over again.

It also didn't help matters much that she hadn't seen or spoken to the sexy dark-haired woman since she had walked her home that night. After they had been interrupted by the phone call, Alex had become very distant and serious. They had barely spoken a word to each other on the way home. Piper couldn't figure out if Alex was upset in some way at her, even though Alex had been the one to make the move, leaning into her on that picnic table with her green eyes smouldering.

If anyone should've become distant and off-put, it should be Piper. She was the one who was married here and had a lot to risk.

This was usually something Piper would discuss with Polly, her best and oldest friend. She talked about all of her relationship problems and such with her. This wasn't something she could discuss though with Polly. Her friend would have a cow for sure if she found out that Piper had almost kissed her neighbour. The only person that Piper could talk about this with was Alex herself.

However, it looked like the brunette had skipped town.

The blonde had tried a couple of days ago to go over to her neighbour's house, finally finding the courage to face the brunette only to find that Alex wasn't home. Since she had nothing else going on in her life at the moment, Piper found herself becoming obsessed with watching the house, trying to spot any sign of the brunette.

A little birdie, aka Lorna, had happily informed her that Alex had gone back to the City for a couple of days.

Even after finding out this news, Piper still caught herself looking out the front window and directly at the house across the street. She knew it made her seem pathetic, and she probably was a little, but she honestly had nothing else going for her at the moment. It further didn't help knowing that Alex was somewhere close to her old neighbourhood in the City, making Piper miss and crave for her old home even more then usual.

A sigh escaped her lips as she sat on the front steps of her house, staring across the street at the house yet again. She was pissed that she was so rattled about this almost-kiss. It shouldn't have such a strong effect on her like it clearly did. She was married for God-sakes, she thought. She should be worrying about her business, getting it up and running instead of wondering about Alex's whereabouts.

She couldn't help it though...Alex had pursued her and she had liked it.

Maybe it was because she'd been with Larry for so long that things between them were like a pair of loved and worn-out shoes. It was comfortable, but at the same time tiresomely predictable and even a little boring. The excitement and thrill of the relationship was sadly gone for the most part. That didn't mean that she didn't love her husband any less for it or didn't have fun with him. It was just that Larry seemed so dull in comparison to the sexy, mysterious brunette across the street. She was attracted to Alex. She loved the adrenaline rush she got every time she was around her.

Piper loved the chase and excitement that the beginning of a new relationship brought, and she had experienced just that with Alex the other night.

The blonde had never cheated or thought about cheating, but now it wasn't such a farfetched idea. The blonde knew if Alex ever tried to kiss her again, she wouldn't do much to stop it. She liked Alex or the idea of her at least.

The ice clinked against her glass as she settled it down beside her after taking a long drink from it. Piper didn't usually drink in the middle of the day, but she needed something to take off the edge she'd been feeling lately. She wouldn't say she was depressed or anything like that, but she did feel a little blue.

Maybe it was because Larry, like Alex, was in the City, leaving her in the middle of nowhere all alone. He was having some important lunch meeting with an editor of a new upcoming online newspaper that had shown interest in his work. Piper was happy for her husband's success, but she couldn't help but also feel a little jealous. While he was off in the City, having fancy meetings, she was stuck here in the suburbs like some 1950's housewife.

She'd tried to do some work of her own that day, but her heart just wasn't really into the whole soap-making thing anymore. It had started off as a fun project to do on the weekends with Polly, but now it just felt like a chore. She and Polly had agreed to spilt the work 50/50, but the blonde seemed to end up with most of it. She knew that this would happen eventually with Polly having her baby soon, but there were still two months to go until then.

That was something she was not looking forward to, the day the baby came.

It had been hard enough to wrap her head around the news that Polly, her best friend, was pregnant. She didn't know how she would handle herself once the baby was actually born. The blonde was happy for her friend. She really was. Polly and Pete would make wonderful parents. It was just that every time she saw Polly and her growing stomach, she couldn't help but think back to a year ago and her own baby.

It would be exactly a year ago next week that she suffered her miscarriage.

Piper shook her head rapidly as she felt sudden moisture in her eyes. She didn't want to think about the little soul she had lost. Reaching for her drink again, she chugged the remainder of it down before standing up in a hurry.

The blonde needed to get out of here and do something. There was only one other thing besides drinking that could help clear her head, and that was running.

That's exactly what she was going to do, she thought as she made her way into the house. Go for a nice long run.

* * *

"YES! YESSS!...OH BABY YESS!"

Alex licked hard at her girlfriend's cunt. Her tongue flicked and glided over her clit, gathering up the sweet nectar that covered it.

She could hear Wren's breath begin to quicken as the minutes passed. She continued to circle the clit, sucking it into her mouth occasionally as Wren thrust her hips against the fingers she had buried deep inside of her.

"FUCK ME! YES! OH BABY! FASTER!" moaned Wren loudly against the pillows of the bed.

Alex moved her fingers repeatedly in and out of her, pulling as far back as she could before sliding all the way in over and over again. She prayed that Wren would come soon. Her jaw and arm where starting to ache and she was extremely hungry at the moment. Plus she was struggling to breathe with her face pressed to Wren's pussy. The brunette usually loved to get her girlfriend off, but today her heart just wasn't into it. She was finding it to be more of a chore then anything. Luckily for her, Wren couldn't keep it in much longer.

Her moans and screams filled Alex's ears as she finally reached her orgasm.

"Oh, baby that was so hot," whispered Wren as she lifted her head and looked at Alex with smouldering eyes.

Alex didn't say anything at first as she slid her fingers out of Wren's pulsing cunt and wiped her lips with her other hand. She smiled slightly as her girlfriend continued to stare at her, waiting for some sort of response from her. "Yeah, so hot," she replied dryly.

"Do you want me to do you?" asked Wren hopefully as she sat up and began to craw towards Alex on the bed.

"I would love you to," responded Alex automatically. "But I need to get going, kid." It wasn't a lie. She did need to get out of here and head back to her own place to pack. She was planning on leaving the City that night to head back to the subs.

Wren's face dropped at this. She narrowed her eyes at the brunette for a second, studying her before pouting out her bottom lip. "Stay," she whispered as she inched her face towards Alex's. "I miss you." The younger woman's lips brushed softly against Alex's, trying to pull her into a kiss.

"I miss you too," whispered Alex as she pulled away from the kiss. "But I have to go back. My mom needs me still."

Her voice sounded foreign to her ears as she continued to talk sweet nothings to her girlfriend. She hated how sweet and sappy she sounded all the time whenever she was with her. However she knew Wren liked it when Alex babied her. Alex had found it cute at the beginning of their relationship, but now she just found it annoying. It seemed like she could never have a proper adult conversation with Wren. She was always whining and bitching about something while Alex was always trying to make her feel better.

The younger woman pouted out her lower lip at hearing this. "But I'm so lonely without you..."

"I'll be back soon," offered Alex.

"Let me come with you," spoke Wren with hopefulness. "I could keep you company in that big house." She slid onto Alex's lap and began to nuzzle the side of her neck. "I bet you're lonely too over there...all alone..."

Alex rolled her eyes up to the ceiling and resisted the urge to sigh. That was the last thing that she wanted, Wren to come up and visit her at her mother's house. "Maybe next time," she murmured after a moment.

"You always fucking say that!" spat Wren as she suddenly pulled away and glared at Alex with rage in her eyes.

"Look," replied Alex as she pushed Wren off of her and suddenly stood up. "I'm just not ready for you to see where I grew up...okay? It's not exactly Upper Westside! It's the fucking suburbs! " Alex was lying through her teeth as she tried to explain why she didn't want Wren to come and visit her. Yes, she hadn't grown up in the nicest of places and Wren probably would think it was dump if she did ever come up and visit. But she just also plainly didn't want Wren to come up. She was enjoying her time on her own, away from her girlfriend, way too much to allow that to happen.

"I won't judge," whispered Wren softly as she tried to pull Alex back onto the bed.

Alex just gave her girlfriend a long look before sighing. This was going nowhere, she thought. "Next time. I promise," she stated before heading into the adjoining bathroom, effectively ending the conversation. She just wanted to shower and get the hell out of Wren's apartment before heading to her own loft and packing up her things. She had already stayed longer than she had originally planned on doing. She was only supposed to be back for a few days, checking in on work and making her girlfriend happy. However, a few days had somehow turned into a whole week.

As much as her relationship with Wren annoyed her, she usually rather put up with it and have the luxury of staying in the City. However, she was finding herself looking strangely forward to returning to the suburbs. She didn't know if it was because she wouldn't have to deal with Wren's annoying whining anymore or for the hope of seeing the tall blonde that lived across the street.

Alex hated how she had left things with Piper that night. That almost-kiss had lingered in her mind the whole week she had been away. She hadn't intended on leaving so abruptly after it had happened, but after walking Piper home, Wren had called her again, bitching about something or another, and before Alex realized, she had agreed to come to the City for a visit. It was something she had been planning on doing anyways, just not so sudden she guessed. Especially, when things were just starting to get interesting with her and Piper, whatever it was.

The brunette still wasn't sure exactly what she wanted to happen with Piper, but she was more than willing to find out, she admitted.

* * *

I know that was probably not the chapter you all wanted to read, but stick with me, big things are going to happen, soon.

Thanks for reading and please review!

Julie


	10. Chapter 10

Do not own Orange Is the New Black or any of the characters.

I'm sorry for such the long delay on this update, been sick with the flu for the past few days.

Enjoy.

* * *

Piper stared up at the ceiling as she lay in bed, wide awake. Her husband, Larry, was sound asleep beside her, snoring away with his arm over his face. He had come home just a few hours ago from his meeting in the city, which apparently had tired him out.

The blonde, on the other hand, couldn't even get her eyelids to droop on their own.

A sigh escaped from her lips as she turned her head to look at the digital clock, resting on their nightstand. 10:45 PM glared back at her in harsh red lights.

God, when had she become so old? 10:45 wasn't that early, but it wasn't really late either. There were times when she was used to going out much later at night and still think it was early. What had become of her? She thought sadly.

She didn't like how she always seemed to be questioning who she was, now that she was a married woman, but she couldn't help herself. Despite all the flair and pomp of her and Larry's wedding, married life wasn't all that thrilling. She honestly hadn't known what to expect of her life after the wedding, but weren't her and Larry supposed to be having wild, passionate sex right now and not able to keep their hands off of each other? Sure, it had been like that during the honeymoon, but that light and fire had quickly faded and cooled, much to her confusion and disappointment. Yes, they were still having sex on a daily basis, but it seemed to almost have lost its once-unquestionable appeal. Especially, since they had stopped using protection, which actually had been half the excitement for her, that terrifying thrill just knowing that she could possibly end up pregnant if they didn't use a condom or if she had skipped her pill. She knew it was crazy, but she used to love that adrenaline rush she'd get when they had unprotected sex as unwed lovers. It had been a walk on the wild side for her, which was really exciting since her life growing up was hardly rebellious.

However, now that they were actually trying to become pregnant, unprotected sex just became…well, sex. It wasn't thrilling or dangerous in any way. Just boring, in-and-out, normal sex.

The sex wasn't bad, don't get her wrong. She enjoyed it every bit as she had when she wasn't a married woman. But she could almost sense its inevitable evolution into routine for them soon. And that was the last thing that she wanted - routine sex, like Polly and Pete had. She wanted passionate, out-of-the-blue, primal, animal fucking.

Piper slowly raised herself onto her elbows, making sure not to awaken Larry as she got out of the bed. Her eyes studied his sleeping face in the dark for a moment before she tiptoed out of the room. She wasn't sure where she was headed. She just knew that she couldn't stay lying in that bed any longer. She needed to do something. She wasn't sure exactly what, but getting out of their bedroom was definite.

There wasn't much someone could do at 10:45 at night in a small town. If she had been in the city, that would have been an entirely different story altogether. But she wasn't in the city right now. She was stuck in this boring hick town where everything shut down at 9 PM.

The blonde slowly made her way downstairs and into the kitchen. Flicking on the lights, her eyes automatically fell onto the canister of sugar that had previously belonged to her tall, dark-haired neighbour. A vision of Alex immediately filled her mind as she crossed the kitchen and stopped at the counter where the sugar rested. She felt something stir within as the brunette's image continued to linger there. She had tried not to think about the kiss for that day, willing herself to focus on mundane household things like what colour she wanted to paint the upstairs bathroom. Right now, she was thinking of two colours, cornflower blue or periwinkle blue. As you can see, it had been a big afternoon for her.

Funny, the colour of the canister was a similar shade to the cornflower blue she was considering. Life was funny, she thought. Taking the canister into her hands, her thoughts drifted to that almost-kiss. That almost-but-not-quite-a-peck could have lead to so much more kiss and had just given her a taste of what a great kisser Alex could be. How could she not be a great kisser? She was fucking hot, admitted Piper. Wasn't it a known fact that all great sexy, hot, and tall dark-haired beauties were great kissers? She swore they had taught that somewhere between algebra and chemistry in school. God, she was such a loser, she thought as she felt the weight of the canister of sugar in her hands.

She hadn't been this held up on someone since she was like fifteen and crushing majorly over her math tutor.

And it was just a crush. Everyone was allowed to have a crush, right? Especially on neighbors who just happened to be hot, glasses-wearing, and gorgeous.

Piper stood there for a moment in the kitchen, still holding the jar in both hands when the sound of a car pulling up got her attention. She didn't know exactly why, but she felt a sudden, irrepressible need to go to the front of the house and check things out. She had a sudden feeling that Alex had just come home.

Piper found herself holding her breath as she counted to ten, listening to the sound of a car turning off. She then practically found herself skipping, yes skipping, down the hallway to peek out the front window. She squinted her eyes slightly as she looked across the street to where a car had indeed pulled up into the driveway. The blonde watched as a tall figure emerged from the driver's side and walked up towards the front door.

* * *

"Home, sweet home," said Alex out loud as she dropped her duffle bag onto the floor, closing the front door with her foot before making her way further into the house.

She stood still there for a moment. It always felt strange now to enter the house and not hear her mother in some way. Growing up, the house had always been filled with some sort of noise, whether it was the radio that her mother always had on or the blaring of the TV in the living room or just the natural loudness of her mother's voice. The Vause house had always been filled with such life and energy. Now it was mostly filled with silence.

Alex padded her way down the hallway and entered the kitchen. She didn't bother to turn on any of the lights as she made her way towards the fridge. The drive back from the city had been longer than expected due to sudden traffic, so she was very much in need of a drink.

She pulled the door open and sighed happily, letting the refreshing cold air wash over her sweaty skin before grabbing a can of beer from the top shelf. Her eyes took in the contents of the fridge briefly as she popped opened the can. Alex ticked off a back molar with her tongue as she noted that there was barely anything in the fridge besides a six pack and a carton of milk, which had probably gone bad since she'd left. She made a mental note to go grocery shopping tomorrow as she nudged the door closed and headed into the backyard.

She plopped onto an old metal lawn chair and relaxed on its faded red-and-white plaid seating. She swung her long legs up and underneath herself before finally taking a much needed drag from her can. Her eyes closed immediately as the familiar taste of beer spread over the back of her throat and filled her mouth with foam. A squishy, comforting feeling washed over her as she leaned back in the chair and looked up into the dark night sky. The air was warm, but not sticky feeling. It was the perfect summer night, she thought as she brought the rim back up to her lips and took another sip. Alex lived for nights like this. She found them to be so peaceful. This was exactly what she needed at the moment after her hellish drive on the highway.

As Alex sat there, letting the beer travel lazily down her throat, she wondered what she should do for the rest of the night. It was late, but certainly not too late to have plans. She wondered if she should call up Nicky or Big Boo and see if they wanted to hang out like old times. Or maybe it'd be nice to just stay in. God knew she could catch up on some major sleep. Going out and partying with Wren and her friends over the past week hadn't given her much of a chance to get any decent sleep, and she knew that she wasn't as young as she once had been. Her body was unquestionably exhausted and craved sleep. However, her mind had its own thoughts.

An image of Piper filled it.

A part of her wished that she'd gotten Piper's number. She would love to see the blonde and just shoot the shit with her right now. However, she doubted that would be happening tonight, or anytime soon for that matter. Piper was probably in her bedroom having crazy, rabid sex with her husband at the moment. Well, maybe not rabid sex. Larry didn't seem like that type of guy. They were probably having boring, plain-old missionary sex. Alex's face screwed up at the thought.

Despite Piper's irresistible hotness, Alex didn't want to picture her having sex with her husband. She could feel her stomach tighten up in automatic distaste.

Alex took another drag from her beer as she let her mind wander over her leggy blonde neighbour from across the way. Sexy images of Piper inevitably developed in her mind's eye, and the husband wasn't anywhere in the picture now. It was just Piper and that sexy, lean body of hers. The brunette found herself licking her lips as something stirred ever so slightly in her lower regions. God, she was horny, she thought suddenly. Fuck. Maybe she should've taken Wren up on her offer before leaving. She found that she was in some need of release as her neighbour continued to take over her thoughts.

Alex gunned the remainder of her beer as she rose to her feet and walked back into the house. Quickly tossing the empty can into the recycling bin by the door, she headed towards her bathroom, peeling off her shirt and bra as she went, leaving a trail. There wasn't anyone to give her shit for leaving her clothing on the floor, so she could make the biggest mess she wanted. Just one of the many benefits of being a grown-up living on her own.

A now topless Alex entered the pale-pink-tiled bathroom and flicked on the lights. The small space hadn't changed much since she could remember when the house had been originally owned by her great grandmother, who had then left the house to Alex's mother. Alex had been about five or so at the time.

However, Great Grandma Leigh was far away from her mind now as she turned on the faucet to the shower.

It took a good five minutes for the old pipes of the house to warm up, and as she waited, Alex stripped off her jeans and underwear. She languidly ran her hands through her hair, idly listening to the sound of running water as her arousal continued to build. She had drunk the beer she'd had earlier on an empty stomach, so she was definitely enjoying a nice buzzing feeling. The brunette looked at her reflection in the mirror above the sink briefly before taking off her glasses and stepping underneath the lukewarm spray. Her eyes closed immediately as she lifted her head up to the shower head and allowed the water to wash over her. God, it felt good against her body.

A soft purr-like sound escaped from Alex's mouth as she turned slowly so that the spray was hitting her backside. She reached for the bar of soap on the edge of the tub in its pink soap dish. She lathered the soap in her hands before moving it over her wet body. She ran the bar of Ivory soap over the taut skin of her stomach, moving her hand in a circle-like motion. She waited until a nice lather had gathered up before traveling her hand upwards to her breasts. Her pulse picked up as a slight tingle ran down her back as her palm came into contact with the base of her breast.

All logical sense left her for a few moments as pleasure slowly spread from her core to all over. Alex's senses were on alert as her hands continued to explore her body. She dropped the bar of soap soon afterwards. Which was fine, she didn't really need it anyway.

As her fingers continued to caress her breasts, an image filled her mind. It was of a similar scene that had happened that very morning with Wren. However, the image of girlfriend didn't stay for too long and was soon replaced with a slightly taller blonde with bluer eyes. The brunette was never really good at imagining things. She'd rather deal with reality than indulge in some fantasy world. However, conjuring up an image of Piper was rather easy and pleasing as she was finding out.

Just as that image was becoming stronger and the touch of her own hands was becoming someone else's, she was suddenly jolted back to reality as she heard the faint sound of someone knocking on her front door.

"What the fuck?" she swore out loud as her eyes shot towards the open bathroom door. Who the hell would be knocking at this hour!? Alex debated about ignoring it and going back to her little naughty fantasy, but fuck all if her mood was killed now. Turning off the water, she quickly stepped out of the shower and reached for the pale blue terri-cloth bathrobe hanging on the back of the door. She quickly slipped it on, not bothering to dry off as she shoved her glasses back onto the bridge of her nose.

There was then another knock on the door as Alex emerged from the steam of the bathroom and moved grumpily into the hallway.

This better be a fucking emergency or something she thought as irritation washed over her. It was probably either Nicky wanting her to come out and play for a bit or maybe Big Boo? Neither of her friends knew she was back in town, but you never really knew with the two of them. They'd much rather drop by unannounced than call ahead to see if she was actually home or busy before coming all the way down. It was a lot more fun this way, she admitted.

She tied the belt of the robe loosely around her waist, not caring if it was completely closed or not. Her feet left a trail of wet footprints against the hardwood floors as she enclosed the distance between the bathroom and the front door.

"Comin'!" she called out as she was about a foot or so away.

* * *

"What the fuck am I doing?!" thought Piper to herself as she stared wide-eyed at the frame of Alex's front door. She was definitely losing her mind. It was fucking eleven at night now and here she was in her godforsaken pyjamas, holding a jar of sugar and knocking on her hot neighbour's door.

Alex was going to think she was fucking crazy. She had half a thought of hightailing back to her own house but froze as a light flicked on and caught her attention. She listened closely as movement on the other end could be heard.

Shit shit shit shit… Her heart began to race in anticipation as she heard the lock on the door turning and the door slowly opened.

Alex immediately opened her mouth to make a sly remark, but her words dried up as she realized who the mysterious night-time knocker was. Her eyes widened in shock as she took in the familiar blonde standing in front of her. Piper Bloom was the last person she had been expecting to be at her door at this hour of the night.

"Hi," murmured Piper with a weak smile.

"Hi?" whispered back Alex as she continued to study her neighbour. She didn't know if this was some weird twist in fate or something that the blonde, who she just so happened was nursing a sexual fantasy about just mere moments ago, was now standing here, on her doorstep in the flesh.

As Alex tried to make sense of what Piper was doing here, the blonde did her own study of the situation. Well, she did some studying, but it wasn't to ponder why she was here. Piper eyed the dripping wet, nearly naked brunette. She tried to keep her eyes on her face, but struggled pathetically. How could she focus anywhere when Alex's cleavage was on display like this?! Her eyes lingered there for a second, imagining just how soft those two glorious breasts would feel in her hands...

"Like what you see?" asked Alex smugly as she leaned against the door frame and cocked an eyebrow. She grinned in amusement at Piper's obvious leering of her chest.

"Huh. Oh. No. I mean yes. No. I mean. Shit. I..." Piper's voice trailed off in a nervous ramble. She hadn't meant to stare at Alex's chest, or get caught at the very least. But could you blame her? Alex had a pretty good rack. Correction. Alex had a fucking amazing rack. "I should go," Piper blurted out in sudden acute embarrassment. What the fuck was she doing here? She was just going to go home now and crawl underneath the covers with whatever was left of her dignity. "I'm sorry to have bothered you so late at night." She turned to go but she didn't get far as a strong hand suddenly grabbed her wrist.

Piper turned around immediately at this and looked up at Alex.

Their eyes met and didn't wither away. Alex's hold on Piper's wrist was gentle as her hand continued to rest there on the inside of her wrist where her pulse point was. Her touch burned into the skin, making her whole body tingle.

The two women stayed like this for a second, absorbing each other's presence before Alex finally broke the silence. She removed her hand from Piper's wrist, but her eyes did not stray from the blonde's doe eyes.

"Do you want a beer?" Alex mumbled, almost thoughtlessly. She very much wanted Piper to stay for a little while longer. She could sense that her night was just about to get interesting, and she was all for it.

Piper didn't know what to say to this. She had no real purpose in mind when she first crossed the street, and a second ago she had been more than ready to forget that she had come over in the first place. But now, things were looking up, she had to admit. She still felt like a complete idiot, that went without saying. But she had just been invited inside. Piper felt like she'd been granted permission to see the Wizard, invited to sit with the cool kids at lunch, or as though she'd had found the golden ticket and was going to meet Wonka.

"Sure," she replied nonchalantly, trying not to let her happiness show too much. She didn't need to make herself look any more like an idiot than she already had, but she couldn't help but feel eager and pleased to be with Alex.

Alex's lips twitched into a smile before she gestured with a tilt of her head for Piper to follow her inside the house. She wasn't a hundred percent sure what she was doing here at the moment or what her overall intentions were, but she wasn't usually one to have a five-step plan. The brunette had always much rather wing things and live on the cusp.

Piper looked over her shoulder towards her own house. The lights were out in the bedroom window. Larry was still probably fast asleep, she figured. She was probably safe for another few hours she thought. She bit her bottom lip as an uneasy feeling came over her. She knew it was a very bad idea to follow Alex into the house. She didn't exactly know what Alex's intentions were or what hers were for that matter. They wouldn't be in this situation if it hadn't been for Piper and her impulsive thinking. She clenched the canister of sugar against her stomach, hugging it while she debated with herself.

"Okay…" she whispered to herself before turning her attention back onto the open door and tentatively stepping into the house. She wasn't doing anything wrong here, she thought. She was just visiting her neighbour, her friend, who she just might have a mild attraction to. It was innocent, what she felt for Alex. Piper loved her husband. Her feelings for Alex would pass; she knew they would. There was no point in over-thinking something that hadn't actually happened yet or would even happen. So Alex had almost-kissed her that one time on the picnic bench, big whoop. Nothing had happened, then or afterwards. This invite inside wasn't any indication that things would resume between them where it had left off on that night.

Piper closed the door behind her as she followed the sound of Alex's footsteps down the hallway and towards the kitchen. She had been here before but hadn't gone any further than the living room.

"Go outside," suggested Alex as she looked over her shoulder at the blonde who was hovering in the kitchen doorway. "I'll meet you out there." She smiled at Piper before opening the fridge door and pulling out two cans of beer.

"Okay." She heard Piper reply back as she moved towards the back door.

Alex couldn't help but chuckle at how good the night was turning out for her. If anyone had told her that that she would be getting a surprise visit from the blonde late at night like this, Alex would've been home much earlier. Closing the fridge door with her hip, the brunette made her way to the backyard where she spied Piper sitting on the metal lawn chair she had been sitting in herself not too long ago. Piper's hair was down, framing her face. Alex allowed her eyes to roam up and down the blonde's body, taking in the heather-grey tank-top she was wearing, with no bra she noted gleefully, to the plaid pyjama shorts covering a pert ass. Piper seemed to be lost in her own world, not seeming to notice Alex staring at her. The blonde's hands were still clenched around the canister like it was a football.

"Here," spoke up Alex as she enclosed the space between them and held out a can of beer for the blonde to take.

"Oh," whispered Piper in slight surprise. "Thanks." She rested the sugar in her lap as she took the cold can of beer with her right hand. She smiled weakly up at Alex as she met her eye for a second.

"I'll be right back," said Alex as she placed the other can down onto the chair beside Piper's. "I'm just going to go change," she gestured to her robe which was still very much open.

"Kay," murmured Piper in response. She watched as Alex once again walked away from her before opening the can of her beer and drinking steadily from it. She needed something to do with her hands and take off the nerves she was feeling.

* * *

"Shit," cursed Alex as the screen door closed loudly behind her.

She just realized that the clothes she had previously been wearing were scattered along the kitchen floor in plain sight. She quickly picked up her t-shirt and bra and made her way back into the hallway. That's just great, she thought. She has a hot blonde over, and her place is a fucking mess. She just hoped that Piper hadn't noticed her bra lying on the floor.

Alex quickly retrieved her jeans from the bathroom floor and shut off the light before making her way into her childhood bedroom. She turned on the light and dumped her clothes onto the bed before taking off the robe which was still adorned around her body.

Tilting her head, she dried her long locks with the material of the robe before throwing it onto the bed too. Alex stood in the middle of the small bedroom for a second, scanning for something to wear. She knew she could put the clothes that were now on the bed back on, but they probably stank of Wren, sweat and smoke. That was not a mixture of smells Piper would possibly find appealing. She knew that she didn't.

Putting on a fresh pair of underwear and bra (matching ones), Alex decided on a white ribbed tank and her beloved jean cut-offs. She knew she probably looked like some white trailer trash, and it wasn't usually an outfit she wore when she was trying to impress someone. But she thought the outfit would be okay, considering that Piper was in her fucking pyjamas. And she really wasn't trying to impress the blonde. Like yeah, she maybe wanted her to like her, but it wasn't like she was trying to get with her. Sure, maybe she had thought about her in a sexual manner more than once over the last week and had been happy to see her at her doorstep. But that was it. She would have been happy to see any of her friends' faces that night. Her inviting Piper in didn't mean anything. If Nicky had shown up, she would have probably invited her inside too for a beer.

Quickly clipping her hair back so that it wouldn't drip onto her tank, Alex headed back out to where Piper was waiting. She didn't give her intentions of having Piper over any more thought. She wasn't usually an overthinker, and she wasn't going to start being one now, she decided.

* * *

Piper sat rigidly on the lawn chair, her pulse racing as she waited for Alex's return. She played with the tab of the can as she listened to the crickets in the garden.

"Hey."

The blonde jumped slightly in her seat as the screen door banged closed, and she snapped her head to see Alex grinning at her.

"Hey," whispered Piper back.

A silence fell over them as Alex took a seat in the chair beside Piper's and opened her own can of beer. The quiet between them lasted a few moments longer as they drank and stared off into the distance. Both seemed nervous and unsure of how to progress things from here. They were both struggling trying to figure out exactly what they wanted to happen between them.

"So...do you always travel with sugar?" asked Alex in feigned interest as she glanced over at the blonde and noticed the familiar sugar canister in her lap.

"What?" asked Piper. "Oh. No." She dropped her gaze onto the sugar that she had kind of forgotten about. "I meant to return it to you."

"Is that why you're here now? To return my sugar?" asked Alex, her eyes glistening with amusement in the harsh illumination of the porch light.

Piper was quiet for a moment as she studied Alex's face. She was trying to figure out what to say to her that didn't make her sound like a complete idiot. "I just thought...I know you said to keep it...but I really felt bad...so, yeah...I'm returning it."

"And you just thought that in the middle of the night would be a good time to do that?" Alex knew she was being a smartass, but she couldn't help herself. It was just so easy with the blonde and ridiculously fun to boot.

"I dunno." Piper shrugged as she looked away from the brunette and down at the beer can in her hand. "It was the only thing I could think of to come over here and see you," she added in a whisper. She didn't dare to look over at Alex as she confessed this.

"Well, you can always come over," replied Alex slowly as she turned to face Piper better in her seat. "We are fucking neighbours." And that was just the truth. They shouldn't let one silly, little almost-kiss get in the way of a good friendship between neighbours. Not that Alex had any good relationships with any of her others neighbours here, or even back in the city... The brunette wasn't one to make friends, really. However, she vowed to change all of that tonight with Piper.

Piper looked up at this and guilelessly returned her attention to the brunette. "We are."

"And what kind of neighbour would I be if I didn't let you come over and borrow and return sugar..." Alex adjusted her glasses on her nose, her eyes never leaving the blonde's face. "Not a very good one." A mischievous smile slowly crept across her features.

"No, I guess you wouldn't be," replied Piper, returning the smile. She didn't know where this conversation was headed, but she was enjoying it all the same. She liked the banter that Alex brought out in her.

The air was still around them for a second as the conversation took a turn. Since it had been established already why Piper was here at this odd time at night, there was only one other thing to do now, really.

"So..."

"So..."

"Here we are. Me and you. Piper." Alex spoke slowly before finishing her beer and placing the empty can down on the ground beside her. She could feel those old feelings and thoughts return from that night a week ago... She knew she had been trying to convince herself that Piper was just here as a friend. But as she continued to study her underneath the lighting of the back of the house, Alex's thoughts were starting to shiftm and she knew it. She didn't want Piper just as a friend or neighbour. She wanted her as something else. Very much so.

"That we are," echoed back Piper. Pleasant nerves began to flutter in her stomach. Even thought she hadn't the fortitude to admit it before, deep down, this was why she had come here tonight. To see the end of the almost-kiss out.

"I'm sorry for the way we left things the other night," Alex began to explain.

"I am too."

"I thought about you and that kiss all week…" whispered Alex in a confession. She didn't really want to beat around the bush any longer. She was hot and feeling slightly buzzed, not to mention turned on. However this moment right now came to pass, she just couldn't bring herself to care any longer about Piper being married or what the consequences would be if they really did just say screw it all and fucked.

"I thought about it too," confessed Piper. "But, it wasn't really a kiss."

"No." stated Alex. "No, it wasn't. You're right. It wasn't really a kiss." She slowly moved so that she was seated on the edge of the chair, her knees brushing ever so slightly up against Piper's. "That's sucked of me. I really don't like to leave things unfinished like that. I'm a woman who likes to finish the job…" The brunette took her glasses off as she spoke and moved them to rest on top of her head. She was letting Piper know that she was all business now. She wanted her.

Piper could sense this too as she watched, completely riveted as Alex purposely removed those black framed glasses from her face. Their eyes locked on one another for a second, and the look was intense and smouldering as they both agreed without words that they wanted to go there. It was time to stop playing this game of cat and mouse.

"I would like you to finish the job very much," spoke Piper softly, her voice barely above a whisper as she felt Alex's breath tickle her skin. A chill ran down her spine as the heat of the brunette touched her neck, their faces just mere inches apart now.

Alex was practically out of her seat as she stretched her back, leaning into Piper. Her darkening green eyes studied the blonde's face, making sure she really wanted this to happen and was not just saying it. Pleased, Alex found that the look that the blonde was giving her back gave it all away.

She wanted it just as badly as she did.

Closing her eyes, Alex finally gave in to the temptation once again. Her lips brushed almost feather-light against the blonde's, enjoying the softness of them before deepening the kiss. She knew she could make this go a much more quickly, but she didn't want to do that. She wanted to draw things out and enjoy what was about to happen. Nonsensically, the age-old question of how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll centre of a Tootsie Pop popped into her head. One could actually take the time and concentration to count and experience each and every lick. Or just take the delicious whole in one bite. As tempted as she was to bite down and swallow the blonde whole, she knew that she wanted to savour and taste the essence that only existed inside.

Still seated, Piper moved her left hand to the back of Alex's head, pulling the brunette's face down and closer to hers and hungrily kissed her back. Unlike Alex, Piper wanted all of the woman leaning deliciously over her, and she wanted her now.

The blonde ran her tongue over Alex's bottom lip before slipping it into the warm depths of the taller woman's mouth. She couldn't believe how fucking good she tasted at the moment. Usually, tasting beer on someone else's tongue repulsed her, but with Alex right now, it was different. The slight bitterness of the alcohol on her tongue and lips somehow tasted as sweet and pure as honey. It just turned her on even more as she continued to give herself to the kiss. Larry was the last thing on her mind now as pleasure slowly started to wash through her.

Alex artfully slid the length of her tongue against and across Piper's, intertwining them she moved to rest her hands on the blonde's knees. With the way her body and neck were angled at the moment, Alex was half-aware that she'd have a stiff neck the next morning, but the feel and taste of Piper's lips against hers was all worth it.

She didn't want to break away from the kiss now, no matter what.

They kissed heavily for a string of breathless moments before they eventually had to submit to their need for air. They were both out of breath as they caught each other's eyes and smiled sheepishly at one another. They were both feeling the same thing at the moment.

"That was..." stuttered Piper as she freed her hand from Alex's hair and touched her swollen lips.

"Hot," added Alex.

"Nice," whispered the blonde a second later.

Alex smirked at hearing Piper's wording for the kiss. "It was a lot better than fucking nice, kid."

Piper's cheeks flushed slightly in response. She was suddenly overcome with shyness as she looked away from Alex and drank the remainder of her beer. Her heart was pounding as her mind raced with thoughts. The kiss had been everything she'd secretly imagined it'd be and more. But now that they'd both come back to earth, reality stared her in the face. She'd wanted to. Oh, she desperately wanted to. But a bubble of anxiety stubbornly grew inside her. Piper just had never been good at going against the rules. She wasn't supposed to be here, in her neighbour's backyard, locking lips with a near-stranger. She should be back in bed, snuggled up to her husband, like a good little wife.

As Piper's worries began to run in circles, Alex brushed her fingers lightly along her inner thigh.

"I'm fucking married," she blurted out as she lowered the now empty can and deliberately drew her attention onto Alex again. Her eyes searched the brunette's face frantically as a sense of panic slowly began to rise up in her throat.

Alex was quiet for a moment as she cocked an eyebrow at this statement. "So? I have a fucking girlfriend," she responded bluntly.

Piper sat there for a second, trying to let this information to sink in. This was the first time she was hearing of Alex having a girlfriend, but it didn't surprise her. Alex was gorgeous. How could she not have a girlfriend?

"Look," sighed Alex, her face softening. "We don't have to go through with this... It was a good kiss. We can just leave it at that...if you want?"

If she wanted, replayed Piper in her head. What _did_ she want? That was a fucking good question. When she had first come over, she had been unsure, yet curious. And now that she'd found out what she had subconsciously come to discover, that feeling was beginning to resurface again, and there wasn't any doubt as to what it was anymore. She wanted Alex. She really did. But what about Larry? She had never thought of herself as a cheater. But how could she possibly reject this immensely sexy being before her.

Screw it, she thought as she looked into that sea of green. She was tired of playing by the rules for once in her life. Rules were no fun, she thought.

"I.." Her eyes searched Alex's face. "I want..." She sighed, frustrated, and then took a sharp breath. Piper dropped the can suddenly, and it clattered loudly on the pavement as she brought her hand once again to the back of Alex's head and immediately captured Alex's lips in a deep, hard, and passionate kiss. With a sharp nip to Alex's bottom lip, she made her message loud and clear.

"More," Alex nodded as she pulled back from the kiss.

Piper nodded back, "All of it."

Before either of them could chicken out, their lips met again, hands frantically trying to find flesh. Crickets continued to chirp in the background as things grew deeper and deeper between the two women. Piper trailed her hands down the span of Alex's neck and along her broad white shoulders. Her skin was so soft against her finger tips, not at all like Larry's hairy and uneven skin. Her fingers wrapped slightly around the straps of the white ribbed tank that Alex was wearing, pulling her slightly further down towards her.

Alex was practically out of the lawn chair now and bending awkwardly over Piper as they continued to kiss.

They stayed liked this for a moment before Alex was taking Piper by the hand and pulling her to her feet. The canister of sugar dropped suddenly to the floor as the blonde stood up. They looked down at it briefly before resuming where they had left off. Alex pressed Piper against the wall of the house, her hands immediately sliding under the blonde's shirt, finally touching her skin which was just as hot as hers. She pressed her mouth hard against Piper's before blazing a trail from her lips and down her neck.

"Fuck," breathed Piper at this. "You're good at that."

Alex smiled, hearing this. She nipped her neck and sucked gently on a vein, earning a moan from the blonde. Deciding that she liked this noise a lot, she repeated the action, while Piper ran her hands through Alex's wet hair, removing the clip and throwing it carelessly to the side.

As their kisses became more and more wild, Piper's hands teased Alex's hip through the material of her shirt as Alex's thumbs tempted her harden nipples.

With a bit of a groan, Piper tore herself away from Alex's lips, "God, I'm burning up!"

Alex looked at Piper with a lustful glaze at this statement. "So am I."

* * *

I promise more will be coming soon.

Thanks for reading and please review!

Julie


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